I'm the One Who's Gonna Save Your Life
by ChelsieLynn
Summary: Steve Rogers has a lot to catch up on; 70 years of world changing events and social reforms. Would he ever be able to fit in again? To help him adjust, SHIELD director Nick Fury sends Agent Waverly Barton to help bring Steve back into the world. But with a new threat terrorizing the planet, will Steve have time to adjust to all of the changes? Rated T to be safe. Eventual Steve/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello readers! This is my second Avengers fic. I've been wanting to write this one for awhile and since I'm having a lull with my current fic, I decided to post this up here. For anyone who's read my other story (Loki's Match), my OC, Waverly mentioned that had she not been sent to keep an eye onb Loki, she would be helping Steve adjust to his new life. This is what that story is about. This story stands competely alone from Loki's Match and has nothing to do with it, excpet for the fact the the OC is Waverly. It takes place after the movie Captain America and before/during The Avengers. My knowledge of the Avengers is limited to the movies so that's what I'm baseing this off of. There will eventually be Steve/OC (the OC being Waverly). The story will hopefully lead into the Avengers and sort of be my own twist on the movie. The title for the story is inspired by the Shinedown song "I'm Alive" that's in the movie. That'll be important later. Maybe. I haven't decided what the plot is going to be exactly. This chapter is kinda long, but I had to set everything up. It's a little boring so sorry for that. Please review! No bashing! If you don't like it, don't read it.**

**I own nothing!**

Chapter One:

Steve stood in the living room of his new apartment provided to him by SHIELD. He looked around him. Everything was so different. He stared at the contraption in front of him. Nick had called it a television. Apparently, it was some kind of radio but it showed pictures as well. Steve picked up the small black rectangle that controlled the television. He had never seen anything like this in his life. Sure, he had grown up with radios, even some that were remote controlled. But this, there were at least twenty buttons on the thing, all labeled differently. The soldier sighed and slumped down into the arm chair behind him. He gave up trying to figure out the television.

After he had woken up and ran out into the streets of New York, Nick had told him he had been incased in ice for roughly 70 years. Once the sheer shock of the news had died down, Fury had suggested Steve attend some sessions with one of SHIELD's psychiatrists. Steve obliged. He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder; something many war veterans experienced. However, due to Steve's altered state, he experienced the disorder in a slightly different manner than most. He had very vivid flashbacks; almost like he was reliving moments from the war and his battle with Red Skull.

Steve simply thought he was depressed. He had lost everything. His family had since passed, his friends gone. He was truly and utterly alone. He had no idea what had happened to the other soldiers in his unit. And then there was Peggy. Thinking of her always caused a pang of sadness. Steve loved her, he knew he did. He had hoped she was starting to feel the same for him. But all that was lost when he brought that plane down into the ocean. He knew what he did was right. He saved so many lives and prevented so much destruction; but at such a great personal cost. Steve sometimes wished the crash landing would have killed him. At least that way he wouldn't have to live with all this pain. But, that was selfish. Steve was a soldier, _the_ soldier. He was Captain America. The people came before himself. Still, Steve wished his altered state would provide him with a way to deal with this huge change; or at least allow him to get drunk.

Steve glanced across the room to the attached kitchen. On the counter was an orange bottle of pills the psychiatrist had prescribed him. Prozac, it was called. The bottle had remained unopened since Steve had gotten it. There were pills for everything now. Back in the 40's, there weren't all these pills and drugs. People learned to deal with their problems, not pop a pill. Maybe Steve just didn't understand modern times. Still, he told himself the pills would only be used as a last resort.

So much other stuff had changed as well. It was all totally overwhelming. He was told that they had won the war. He was told that Red Skull had been defeated, the Cube lost, and the Nazis overpowered. On the other side of the world, two atomic bombs had been dropped on Japan. If there was one good thing about his seventy year sleep, it was the fact that Steve didn't have to live through the experience of the bombings. He had heard terrible stories; the destruction, the pilots who committed suicide, the disease.

Then, so much after that occurred. Steve just couldn't comprehend it all. He had to absorb seventy years of world history in a very short amount of time. The wars in Vietnam and Korea; the problems in the Middle East; all the social changes that had taken place; it made Steve's head spin. He had been given a high school history book, along with some of SHILED's files. He was advised to read these, a bit every night, to acquaint himself with the current state of the world. It helped, but it didn't make the transition into the twenty-first century any easier. Steve understood the historical significance of all that had happened since he had fallen asleep, but he was still the man that time forgot. Cell phones, computers, television, Facebook; there was so much technology he didn't understand. New fads, new music, new styles; he just didn't fit in with people his age. It was all just so different.

Even going to the grocery store was overwhelming. Steve could still remember dealing with the ration. People today had such a wide variety of choices; most of it processed and unhealthy junk in the captain's opinion. There were even machines at the store that made cahiers obsolete. Customers could check themselves out and feed money into a metal receptacle. It was as if interpersonal contact was a thing of the past; people could not communicate without a plastic screen in front of them.

Sitting in the arm chair, he picked up his newspaper lying on the end table. Despite how angry he was, or had been, with SHEILD, Steve really was grateful for all the SHILED and Nick had done for him. They provided him with the apartment, which was exceptionally nice. The living room was fully furnished with a flat screen television. The kitchen had a table for two and all new appliances. Steve had a furnished bedroom for himself and a spare. For company, Fury had told him.

_What company?_ Steve thought. Still, it was nice knowing SHEILD had provided him with every luxury they could. They paid his bills since he was not yet acquainted enough with the world to get a job. They even paid to have the newspaper delivered to him.

Steve opened the paper. It was so different than the papers he had read in his youth. Much larger and thicker, today's newspapers were full of article on everything from the day's events to ads to trivial articles about something called reality TV shows. The pictures were no longer in black and white. They were large, full of color, and made it feel like you were actually there.

Steve began reading an article on the wars in the Middle East when he heard a knock on his door. Setting the paper aside, Steve crossed to the wooded door and undid the latch. Opening the door, Steve came face to face with a young woman. She was much shorter than he was, barely reaching over five feet. Steve's former self would still be taller than the girl. She was smiling up at him, a manila envelope in her hand.

"Hello, Captain Rogers," She said. She held out a slender hand. "I'm Agent Waverly Barton, of SHIELD."

Steve nodded and returned the gesture. "How can I help you, ma'am?"

Releasing Steve's hand, the agent held out her other hand, offering Steve the envelope. "Director Fury sent me here. He thinks I'll be able to help you…" Her voice trailed off.

"Adjust?" Steve offered.

"Yes, adjust. Fury explains everything in there." Agent Barton nodded at the envelope.

The captain slid open the envelope with his thumb and slid out several sheets of paper. One of them was a letter from Director Fury. Another was a profile of the agent that stood before him. There were several other documents on official looking paper that Steve ignored for the time being. He glanced over the letter from Fury.

"You're going to be living here?" Steve asked, an eyebrow raised.

Agent Barton frowned. "Yeah, I was a little put out by that idea too."

Steve's other eyebrow vanished into his bangs.

"Not that it's anything against you," the agent added. "I just think two strangers living together is a bit odd. But Fury's ideas haven't led us astray so far."

Steve nodded, though not completely agreeing with the statement. "I guess that's why I have an extra bedroom. He had this planned all along."

"That's usually how he works," Agent Barton affirmed.

"When will you be moving in, Agent Barton?"

The SHEILD agent gave a small laugh. "You can call me Waverly, Captain."

"Then you can call me Steve."

"Okay, Steve," Waverly agreed. "I can move in whenever you'd like. I figured I'd come over today, though, and introduce myself."

Nodding, Steve stepped aside. "Come in." He let Waverly into his apartment and led her to the couch. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Water would be fine," Waverly answered. "You're very polite. Most guys I deal with aren't so nice."

"Yeah," Steve said from the kitchen. He pulled two glasses down from the cupboard. "I get that a lot. Did something happen in the last seventy years to make manners outdated?"

Waverly laughed. "It seems like that's the case for most people."

Steve nodded and began filling the glasses at the sink. There was a contraption on his refrigerator that produced chilled water and ice cubes, but he had to hook it up to something on the sink and he just couldn't figure it out. Instead, he held the glasses under the tap and then dropped in a few ice cubes from a tray in the freezer. Walking back into the living room, he handed Waverly her glass.

"Thanks," she said. After she took a sip, she made herself more comfortable on the couch.

Steve sat down at the other end, putting his glass on the end-table, beside his newspaper. "Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I'm Waverly Barton. I'm twenty years old. Have you met Clint? Hawkeye?"

Steve shook his head. "I've heard of him." Steve had heard of the marksman; and his partner, Black Widow. He wondered what this had to do with anything.

"He's my brother," Waverly added. "That's how I became involved with SHIELD."

"Are you a sniper as well?" Steve questioned.

Waverly shook her head. "I'm terrible at combat and all that stuff. I work as…" she paused. "I'm more like Fury's secretary than anything."

"And now you're babysitting me." Steve's voice was light, as if he was joking, but his eyes were cold.

"I'm here to help you, Steve." Waverly said. She reached across the couch and placed one of her cool hands on Steve's. "I know it must be hard for you."

Steve's blue eyes met Waverly's brown eyes. Steve could tell she was being genuine. She wasn't like the doctors that he had met at SHIELD. Waverly really did want to help him get used to all the changes he was going through. The captain allowed himself to smile. "Thank you." He said.

Waverly sat back in her seat and sipped her water. "You're welcome. When would you like me to move in?"

Steve thought about it for a moment. It wasn't like he had any plans or anything. He didn't associate with anyone outside of SHILED and the only thing he did regularly was go to the gym down the street. "Whenever you like," he decided. "Just, um." He picked up his cell phone. Fury had given him this device as well. The director told him how to use it, but he had since forgotten. "I'd say call me but I'm afraid I don't know how to work this thing."

Waverly started to laugh, but caught herself. "That's okay. Fury gave me your number. Just press the green button when it rings. I'll call you and let you know. It'll take me a few days to get my stuff ready."

"Sounds fine," Steve said. He looked down and located the green button Waverly had indicated. Why couldn't Fury have just said that? The phone seemed much simpler now.

"I'll call you, then." Waverly drained her glass and stood. "I'll just put this in the sink and then be on my way."

Steve stood as well. "I've got it." He took the glass from the agent. After setting the pair of glasses in the sink, Steve led Waverly back to the door. "It was nice meeting you, ma'am."

"Likewise. Talk to you soon."

"Good evening." Steve watched Waverly walk down the hall to the elevators. He shut the door behind him and then walked back into the small kitchen. His kitchen was equipped with a dish washer, but Steve preferred to hand wash his dishes. Dumping some soap into a rag, he began to scrub the glasses clean. It seemed like a lot of the technology these days was used just to make life easier. What happened to the value of hard work? After rinsing the soap from the glasses and his hands, Steve set them upside-down on a towel to dry. He dried his hands on a rag hanging from the oven handle, and returned to his newspaper in the living room.

Steve made quick work of the article he had been reading earlier, though he had to reread several lines. He still wasn't completely familiar with the jargon of the day._ A lot has changed, _the captain thought, _But so much is still the same. _He frowned. The world was still plagued by wars. People were still dying. Sure, there was nothing as terrible as HYDRA, but this new threat, the terrorists, they were indeed bullies. Steve didn't like bullies. Steve longed to suit up and go overseas and correct the problems in the world, but he knew jumping into combat after a seventy year sleep wasn't a good idea.

So for now, he would have to be content with working out at the gym and accepting Agent Barton's help. Maybe once he adjusted, he could go out and make a difference again.

* * *

Waking up in a cold sweat seemed to be the norm for Steve. Glancing over at the alarm clock, he saw that it was just after three in the morning. Steve unstuck himself from the sheets and walked into the bathroom a short way down the hall. Filling his hands with cool water, he splashed his face. Steve looked at himself in the mirror. He just couldn't shake the nightmares. This one had been about Bucky and the fall to his death. Steve knew it wasn't his fault. He knew there was nothing he could have done to save him. But the memory of the event still haunted him. After all he had done to save Bucky from HYDRA, a fall was what killed his best friend.

Steve ran a hand down his face and walked from the bathroom to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water. Sitting at the kitchen table, Steve bounced his leg up and down. This was a habit he had had ever since he had awakened. He supposed it was associated with his disorder. Steve's blue eyes fluttered over to the bottle of pills on the counter. Maybe he could just take one. Maybe it would help him sleep. Steve stood up and crossed to the counter. Looking at the bottle, he learned it was advised that he take the pills with food. _After dinner, then._ Steve decided. He gulped down the last bit of his water and went back to bed.

He had no desire to fall back asleep. He wasn't even that tired, to be honest. He wasn't sure if it was his altered metabolism or the fact that he had been asleep for seventy years, but he hadn't slept more than a few hours every night. The nightmares might have something to do with it too. Steve reached for the manila envelope Waverly had given him that evening. He switched on the light on his bed-side table and pulled out the girl's profile. He began to read.

Waverly had been working with the agency since she was sixteen. She had been working as Fury's secretary most of the time, but was also involved in something the profile deemed 'top secret.' Under family, only Clint Barton was listed. As per regulation, the SHILED profile contained Waverly's vital statistics, but Steve just skimmed over those. Waverly seemed like a nice young woman. Her words were genuine and she really seemed like she wanted to help Steve.

Hopefully the young agent would be able to help Steve. She probably wouldn't be able to help with the nightmares and the post-traumatic stress, but maybe, if he wasn't so out of touch with things, the captain would feel better. And, although he was uncomfortable with the girl moving in with him, at least he wouldn't be so lonely. Steve certainly had misgivings about this whole thing, but he didn't have much of a choice.

* * *

Waverly had first introduced herself to Steve on a Monday. Two weekends later, much longer than Steve had expected it would take, the girl moved into his apartment. Her room was already furnished, as was the rest of the apartment, but it took several trips to the moving van to transport all her boxes to her room. Waverly had declined Steve's help, but the super soldier insisted. Once all the boxes had been unloaded, Waverly wiped sweat off her forehead and pulled her frazzled brown hair into a pony tail.

"Well, that was more work than I expected," She gasped. "What do you say we go get something to eat?"

"Great," Steve agreed. "Where to?"

"Ever been to McDonald's?"

Steve shook his head.

"Then this will be the start of your lessons." Waverly fished her wallet out of one of the boxes in her room. Once she was ready, she led Steve from the room.

"What's McDonald's?" He asked as he locked the door to the apartment.

"A fast food place." Seeing the confusion on the captain's face, Waverly added, "Fast food is like… food to go. It's a restaurant but you don't have to wait for your food to be cooked."

"Well how do they know what you want to eat?" Steve asked. He led his new roommate to the elevator.

Waverly let out a small laugh. "They have most of their food already prepared. That's the fast part."

"Sounds… appetizing," Steve said with uncertainty.

"It's not the greatest," admitted Waverly, "But it's all right in a pinch. I can't cook to save my life and after you helped me move, I'd feel bad asking you to make something to eat."

Once out in the street, Waverly took over the lead. It was a typical day in New York, busy as usual. Even in the 40's, New York was a hectic place. Steve felt at home on the sidewalks of the city, but looking around was overwhelming. Huge, flashing billboards dotted the buildings and huge, lavish cars prowled the streets. Waverly was explaining that McDonald's was just a few blocks down the street. Steve tried to listen, but there was so much going around him that he struggled to understand. Young people and teenagers stalked the sidewalks with wires sticking from their ears, connected to some kind of electronic device. They took no notice of their surroundings and, while Waverly maneuvered the streets with ease, Steve dodged around several youngsters. Other teenagers had their thumbs clicking away at cell phones. Supposedly, phones had something called a keyboard, which was like a typewriter. Steve still hadn't figured out his phone. Waverly told him they were texting, whatever that was. Even the adults seemed engrossed in this activity. Everyone from mothers with children swinging from their arms to men in business suits with briefcases had their thumbs pressed to their phones.

They had reached their destination. The building was bedecked in red and yellow and had something labeled a 'PlayPlace' attached to it. Steve followed Waverly through the automatic doors. She led him to the counter.

"What would you like?" She asked the captain.

Steve looked up at the menus hanging above their heads. Big Mac. McFish. Chicken McBites. Nothing sounded like food. Steve saw, in a corner of the lighted board, a picture of a cheese burger. "I'll just have a cheese burger," he said to Waverly.

"What do you want to drink?"

"They still have Coke a Cola?"

Waverly nodded. She stepped up to the register and addressed the worker. "I'd like two cheeseburgers, please. A small fry. A large Coke and a small root beer." The worker pushed some buttons on the register and read out their total. Waverly fished some money out of her wallet and paid for their meal.

Steve felt guilty. Waverly shouldn't be paying for their meal, even if it was her job to help Steve adjust. Steve was a gentleman, he should have offered to pay. Stepping up to the agent, he pulled his wallet from the pocket of his leather jacket. "I've got it," he said.

"It's all right, Steve," Waverly insisted. "My treat."

Their food was ready in just a few short minutes. It really was fast food. The worker handed their meal to them on a red plastic tray and Waverly led Steve to a booth as far from the PlayPlace as possible.

"Kids are sort of loud here," she explained. Waverly placed the tray on the table and took a seat. Steve slid into the booth opposite her. Waverly handed him his cheeseburger and pointed out which drink was his.

"I really should pay you back for this," Steve said.

Waverly shook her head. "It's okay, really."

"A lady shouldn't have to pay."

Waverly smiled. "Steve, it's not a date."

The soldier's cheeks flushed red. "That wasn't what I was insinuating."

Waverly shook her head and bit into her cheeseburger. After she swallowed, she gave Steve another kind smile. "It's fine. Really, it is. Chivalry isn't as big as it was in your day. Girls can pay for themselves."

Steve nodded and took a bite of his dinner as well. To his surprise, it wasn't all that bad. It was obvious the food was of the precooked, processed variety that was plentiful in the grocery store, but it wasn't totally bad. "That's just how out of touch I am," he said after gulping down some Coke. "It was unheard of for women to pay. It just wasn't polite."

"You missed a lot while you were asleep. Women have changed." Waverly let out a sigh. "Men have changed too. In the 60's, there was a wave called feminism. It was all a bit radical in my opinion but I agree with a lot of it as well. Women have become a lot more independent since World War II. We can pay for ourselves. We can even pay for our boyfriends and no one thinks it's a big deal. Although…'' Waverly trailed off.

"What?"

Waverly let out a dry chuckle that was void of humor. "Well, in the case of my boyfriend, I pay for everything. I mean, I don't care. It'd just be nice for him to return the gesture sometimes." Waverly huffed out a sigh before returning to her meal. "But that's not something you have to be worried about. Let's get back to you. Why don't you tell me how you've been doing so far? We can go from there."

Steve wasn't quite sure if it was just his old fashioned ideals, but the thought of Waverly's boyfriend taking advantage of the girl, like it sounded, made Steve feel angry. He could learn as much about the current world as he wanted, it didn't mean he'd have to like it. He would always stick by the values and ideals he was raised upon, but he'd still have to accept the way things were now. Steve took another drink. "Well," he said slowly. "I've been reading a history book. I know what happened and why it's important, but, imagine being frozen for seventy years. Falling asleep with the world one way, waking up with it another. I just can't wrap my head around everything."

Waverly nodded. "It must have been terrible for you."

Steve sighed. "It was. It is." The captain paused, his mind flashing back to his last conversation with Peggy. It was one thing to be upset with himself that he had effectively abandoned his unit and his country. It was another to feel the hurt and disappointment at leaving Peggy.

Sensing his despair, Waverly spoke up again. "How about you tell me what you like to do for fun?"

Steve looked up at her. Fun? He hadn't had time for fun in years… many, many years. Ever since the war had started, he had been set on joining the military. Then, he became Captain America and he used his newly acquired skills to defeat HYDRA. And then, he had been encased for seventy years. He racked his brain, remembering the days before the war, the days with Bucky. Bucky was big, strong, and athletic. As was the norm, he was involved in football like most high school boys. Steve wasn't at all athletic in high school, so he didn't make the cut, but he and Bucky were known to play with kids in the neighborhood. "I've always like football, even though I've never been very good. Now that I'm Captain America, though, I can probably make a decent tackle."

Waverly laughed. "We'll have to find you a team to root for, then." Another laugh. "I'm sure the Patriots would love to have you as a fan."

Steve nodded, though he didn't really know who the Patriots were. A football team, obviously, but for who, Steve didn't know. He thought back. He had gone to a movie every now and then. Waverly seemed pleased when he said this. Movies were apparently a popular pastime and were easy enough to do.

There was one more thing Steve always wanted to do, but had been too afraid to do. Dancing. He had agreed to go dancing with Peggy. Steve swallowed at the memory. "I guess there's dancing," he said quietly. "I've always wanted to go, but never have."

"Why not?"

Steve heaved a sigh. "Never had the right partner."

"Maybe we can find you one," Waverly suggested.

Steve didn't bother answering. He wanted Peggy, but he knew that was out of the question. He didn't even know if she was still alive, let alone if she remembered him. And even if she did, she would be in her nineties. Steve was still technically in his early twenties. Even if she still had feelings for him, and was still single, Steve knew a relationship with her was out of the question.

Steve and Waverly finished the rest of their meal in relative silence. Waverly dumped their empty cups and wrappers into a trash can and then led Steve back out into the street.

"So, what do you want to know about?" Waverly asked on their way back to the apartment.

"Why don't you tell me how to use this?" Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I still can't figure it out. What the heck is texting?"

Waverly took the phone from Steve. It was a smartphone with a touch screen. Waverly had just gotten a smartphone herself and still wasn't quite familiar with all the new features the phone provided. She laughed. "Well, you and I are on the same page there. These smartphones are new to me too. But texting is simple enough." Waverly showed Steve how to begin a new text message. He struggled to remember the sequence of buttons. "And then you just type whatever it is you want to say."

"Why don't you just phone people?" Steve asked. He watched as Waverly typed a sample message that she was going to send from Steve's phone to her own. "And what does lawl mean?"

Waverly handed the phone back to Steve. "Texting is just simpler, I guess. And that isn't lawl. It's L. O. L. It stands for laugh out loud. Textspeak."

Steve nodded. "Lol. Okay. Got it." He pocketed his phone for the time being. Most of this new stuff seemed trivial to him. He turned his face to Waverly as they crossed the street. "How about we talk about something… not so…"

"Silly?" Waverly offered. "Sure. Shoot."

"When I took that plane down, F.D.R. was president. Who's the president now?" The soldier asked.

"Right now, it's Barack Obama," the agent answered. "But this is an election year. It looks like it's going to be him against Republican Mitt Romney. That's all I'm going to say on that. There's only a few things I refuse to talk about with people. Politics and religion."

"Why is that?"

Waverly sighed. "That's one of the things about society today. People are adamant in their beliefs but as soon as someone has a differing opinion, arguments start. My high school political science class was torture. A third of the class was republican. Another third were democrats. All our classes turned into debates. And not the good kind. The other third just didn't care. So I just don't like to talk about that kind of stuff with people."

"Well, I won't argue with you," Steve said. "We can talk about what ever you'd like."

By now the rather odd pair of companions had reached the apartment building. They entered the building and boarded the elevator. "So," Steve went on, "Do you think I'm still registered to vote after I've been asleep for seventy years?" He flashed a smile.

Waverly's head tilted back in a laugh. "You're freakin' Captain America. I'm pretty sure they'll let you vote."

Steve chuckled. "I would hope so." The soldier unlocked the apartment door and stepped aside to let Waverly in. "Oh! I almost forgot." Digging in the pocket of his coat, he pulled out another key. "I got this from the landlord. Since you'll be living here, you'll need your own key."

"Thanks." Waverly took the key from Steve. She took a moment to attach it to her existing set of keys while Steve shut the door behind them and locked it for the night.

"Thank you for dinner," Steve said, awkwardly.

"It's no big deal," she assured the captain. "Really, just forget it." Waverly let out a yawn. "I think I'm going to unpack a little and then go to bed. I have to report to Director Fury in the morning so I won't see you until sometime tomorrow afternoon."

Steve nodded.

"If you need anything before then, just let me know."

Steve nodded again. "Good night, miss."

Waverly rolled her eyes but Steve could tell it was in a playful manner. "I told you. It's Waverly. Good night Steve."

Steve nodded yet again and watched the young agent disappear into her room. The captain slid his boots off and placed them beside the door. He then slid his jacket off, remembering to take his phone out of the pocket, and hung it in the small closet between the front door and the entrance to the kitchen. Though it was now late in the evening, Steve didn't feel tired yet. Entering the kitchen, he remember his resolution to begin taking his pills around dinner time. He poured himself a glass or orange juice and took a pill from the bottle. So far, the pills hadn't helped much. Steve still had nightmares, almost nightly. He still found himself performing little rituals that eased the stress and anxiety he harbored. Like the leg shaking. He noticed when his mind was not fully occupied, the leg shaking began. Sometime it was toe tapping. Whenever the rituals became too cumbersome, Steve would grab his gym bag and head down the street for an intense work out. That always calmed him down. Tonight, though, Steve felt more relaxed than he had been in a while. He finished his orange juice and went into the living room. He had finally figured out the remote control so he turned on the television and found the History Channel. He had been watching this channel a lot. From the programs, he gleaned information that help him place himself back in time. The show tonight wasn't all that helpful though. It was called 'Pawn Stars.' Steve had learned that the title was a clever play on the phrase 'porn stars.' That was another thing about today's society that Steve just could not wrap his head around. In his day, sexuality was something one kept private. Sure, in the army there had been soldiers who had slept around in various cities they were stationed in. And there was that one woman who had kissed Steve out of nowhere. But that was nothing compared to how promiscuous young people were today.

Thankfully, though, this show had nothing to do with sex. It was about a family that owned a pawn shop. There were some interesting objects on the show every now and then; even some artifacts from World War II. Steve liked those episodes the best. Although, they made him feel extremely old.

Steve settled into his couch to watch the show. Though he didn't feel tired at all, the show eventually lulled him to sleep. The super soldier rested with his head propped up on the couch arm and a quilt draped over his upper body. Tonight, he slept nightmare free.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So, I've decided to switch between Steve's and Clint's POV from chapter to chapter, at least until I get the story set up a little bit. For those of you who've read Loki's Match and know Waverly's back story, this chapter might be a little boring for you, but I had to set Waverly's character up as well. To my Loki readers, her back story is going to be a little bit different in this story, but not terribly so. I don't think I have anything else to say about this chapter... I'm not sure if I like it but oh well... Thanks to all who've reviewed/favorited and to those who are following me! You're awesome! I hope you enjoy.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Two:

Alarm clock buzzing, Waverly suppressed a monstrous yawn and opened her eyes. Six in the morning had come far too quickly for her. She rolled out of bed, slamming her toes into one of the many boxes that still littered her room. The young agent stifled a swear. Hopping on one foot and massaging her stubbed toes, Waverly bounced across the room to one of her boxes of clothes that was sitting, still packed, in her closet. She dug around in the box for a moment, locating her fluffy pink bath robe. Wrapping it around her, she crossed to another box that contained her toiletries. Armed with a towel, soap, and shampoo, Waverly left her room and entered the small bathroom across the hall.

She hadn't shared a bathroom with a man since she moved out of her brother's apartment. And quite frankly, she wasn't eager to share one again. But, she was surprised when she entered Steve's bathroom. It was fairly clean, only a few misplaced objects here and there. The toilet lid was even down.

Waverly carefully cleared a spot for her bathroom necessities in the medicine cabinet, then undressed for the shower. With the warm water raining down on her, Waverly began to scrub herself clean. Though she was concealed by the shower curtain and the bathroom door was locked, she couldn't help be feel a little uncomfortable about showering in Steve's bathroom. Well, technically, it was her bathroom as well, but still. She hardly knew the captain and he hardly knew her. Waverly remembered when Fury had brought up this assignment. She had argued until she was blue in the face about moving in with Steve, but Fury was insistent. To hear the director tell it, Steve was completely unable to manage in his new apartment. So, Waverly had no choice but to accept the terms of the assignment. Clint hadn't been too thrilled, though, but Clint had always been annoyingly overprotective.

Massaging her scalp, Waverly had to admit that for the first night, it hadn't been so awkward. Steve was clearly shy around women, but he was kind and polite. Dealing with his old fashioned customs might be a challenge, but to the super soldier, they weren't old fashioned. Waverly would have to get used to some of Steve's mannerisms. She wasn't here to change the captain, just help him find his place in this new environment.

Finished with her shower, Waverly turned off the tap and wrapped herself in her towel. She quickly dried off, then slid her robe back on. Waverly crossed quietly back into her room. She didn't want to wake Steve. She knew, from Fury, that he had trouble sleeping so if he was still asleep, Waverly didn't want to be what woke him. The SHIELD agent hung her robe on her door knob, and then wove her way around boxes to the closet. She dug once more in the box of garments and pulled out her SHEILD uniform. It was irritating, really. She wasn't an agent like her brother or Romanoff; why did she need to wear a jumpsuit like they did? She pulled the leather garment up her legs and thrust her arms into the sleeves. Waverly was authorized to carry a gun, just for safety precautions, but she was no more a true SHIELD agent than her mother was. Well… that might not be entirely accurate. Waverly had never known her mother. She hadn't known her father either. Clint had said they died when she was very young, so the archer had taken to raising her. It didn't make sense to Waverly. Clint was only about twelve years older than her. How could a twelve year old kid raise his baby sister? Waverly never questioned her brother, though. He was the only one she had, so she accepted what he had told her. Though, when she was in high school, she snuck into one of the SHEILD computer labs and used their files to try and figure out who her parents were. She got in some serious trouble for that. So did Clint; after all, he was the one who gave her the security code to get in the lab in the first place.

Thinking about her parents made Waverly uncomfortable. The whole story of how they died and how Clint raised her was fishy enough, but when she thought of her parents, she couldn't remember a single thing about them. And Clint never told her anything. It just felt very strange, but Waverly had learned to not ask questions. The agent sighed and zipped up the jumpsuit. She buckled her belt around her waist and checked to make sure her hand gun was concealed safely in its holster. To finish off her morning routine, Waverly pulled her still damp, shoulder length hair into a pony tail, brushing her bangs to the side of her forehead. All that was left to do was to put on her boots and her identification badge, but those were out by the front door.

Waverly quietly left her room and walked into the living room. She started when she saw Steve asleep on the sofa. His mouth hung slightly open and he was gently snoring. The History Channel was playing softly in the background. _Well,_ Waverly thought,_ at least he's asleep._ Waverly was extra careful as she entered the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal. Chewing as quietly as possible, Waverly watched Steve as she ate.

_It must be so hard for him. He has no one. Everything he knew has changed._ Steve rolled over on the couch, as if aware that Waverly was watching him. His back was now to the girl.

Waverly glanced over at the clock on the microwave. 6:30. She had half an hour to get to headquarters. Better get a move on. Traffic in New York was madness. The agent placed her bowl in the dishwasher, vaguely aware of how unused it looked. _Steve must not know how to work this either. I'll have to show him when I get home._ Waverly left the kitchen, wondering how she would explain some of today's typical tasks to the soldier. So many things Steve was unfamiliar with came naturally to Waverly. Like using a cell phone; the agent didn't think twice when using the device. Frowning, Waverly became aware of how hard this assignment could be. When Fury had first come to her with the idea, she thought it was all a bit silly. Now, she was worried she wouldn't be able to do the job justice.

There wasn't time to doubt herself now. She had to get to work. Waverly pulled her combat boots from the closet. Well, they weren't really her boots. They had been her brother's when he was maybe sixteen. He had given them to her when her feet had grown enough to fit into them. Still, she had to pull the laces as tight as possible or her feet slipped in and out of the leather boots. Every once in a while, if she didn't take the time to lace her boots properly, she wound up with blisters on her ankles from all the rubbing.

Finally ready to go, Waverly let herself out the apartment and shut the door gently behind her.

* * *

As usual, SHIELD headquarters was alive with activity. Waverly gained access to the small, unassuming building in lower Manhattan by swiping her identification badge at the door. Once inside, a thumb print cleared her to the lower levels of the building. Finally, a retina scanned allowed Waverly entrance through a large metal door. The door slid open, revealing the deep, winding passages of the massive SHEILD headquarters. Most of the operation was hidden in these tunnels, far underground, away from prying eyes. Waverly massaged her watering eye as she walked the familiar path to Fury's office; she could never get used to the sting caused by the retina scan. The door to the director's office was closed, so Waverly knocked.

Fury's deep voice answered. "Come in."

Waverly pushed open the door and entered the director's office. She had since gotten used to all the electronics in Fury's office. He had the typical desk and chairs and even a bookcase and filing cabinet. But the SHEILD director also had three computers, a touch screen planted in the surface of his desk, and so many other blinking and whirring devices, it was a miracle the director could hear himself think.

"Good morning, Agent Barton," Fury stated. He closed a window on one of his computer screens and leaned forward in his high-backed leather chair. He rested his elbows on the edge of his desk, steepled his fingers, and balanced his chin on the tips of his fingers.

"Good morning, sir," Waverly responded. She took a seat opposite Fury's desk.

"How are things with Captain Rogers?"

"I've only been living at his apartment for one day, sir. There's not much to tell."

Fury raised his eyebrow. "I gave you this assignment a month ago."

"I understand," Waverly said, keeping her voice level, "But with all due respect, sir, I was a little busy putting together Steve's file to hand over to Agent Colson."

"Steve?"

Waverly suppressed an eye roll. "I'm living with the man. I think we can be on a first name basis."

"Right." Fury leaned back in his chair. "So what have you been doing with the captain, thus far?"

"I'm there to help him adjust. I've been answering his questions. Explaining things to him. He was asleep for seventy years. He's still a little overwhelmed. He's still dealing with the post-traumatic stress and the fact that everyone he knew is gone." Waverly's voice held a hint of annoyance that the director chose to ignore. Waverly respected Fury as much as any of the other agents did, and she trusted the director's decisions, however, she felt Fury was too eager to rush Steve back into the world. Waverly wasn't entirely sure that was the best course of action. "Director Fury, I know you want Steve to be the founding member of the Avengers, but he's nowhere near ready to lead a team of super heroes. You gave me this assignment. You told me to do whatever I could to help Steve adjust. Things need to be taken slow. At least for now. Just imagine how hard it is for him."

Waverly watched as the director processed her words. Waverly could hardly imagine Fury understanding the feelings of others, let alone the emotions of a soldier from World War II; the director hardly showed any emotion himself aside from anger. Eventually, Fury's brow unfurrowed and his gaze softened. "All right, Agent Barton. Do as you see fit."

Waverly nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"I will want weekly reports, on everything. How he's adjusting, his mental status, everything."

Another nod from the young agent.

"The doctors are still worried he may succumb to suicidal thoughts or obsessive compulsive behaviors to combat the stress."

"I'll keep an eye on him, sir. He's in good hands."

"He had better be." With that, Fury dismissed Waverly.

Waverly gave Fury a respectful nod, then left his office. Trekking back above ground, Waverly grumbled to herself. That meeting had lasted maybe fifteen minutes. Did she really have to get up at six in the morning just to tell Fury things were okay? Well, Fury had expected her to have been living with the super soldier for a few weeks by now. Waverly should have had more to report on. Next week, she'd have a full report for Fury. But how interesting it would be, Waverly didn't know. _Today I taught Steve how to use a cell phone. Yeah, Fury will be thrilled._

Back in the bright sunshine, Waverly walked across the street to the parking garage where her car was located. She hated driving in New York, and if it was up to her, she wouldn't even own a car. But SHIELD agents, with guns swinging from their hips, often got strange looks on subways or in taxis, so Fury strictly prohibited the use of public transport.

Waverly's car was on the second level; a bright red Chevy Cobalt. It had been given to her, as nearly all of her belongings had been, by Clint. It was a sixteenth birthday present. The car was used, but in very good condition. Needless to say, Clint made enough as a SHIELD spy and assassin to fully support his sister through her youth. Waverly opened the car with the press of a button and climbed inside. She buckled herself in and started the engine. Making a mental note, Waverly decided to take Steve for a drive in her car sometime. They had cars in the 40's, but nothing like the vehicles of today; what with all the new features, gizmos, and do-dads. Waverly pulled into the busy New York street and joined the crawl of commuters going about their daily drives.

* * *

It took Waverly half an hour of idling along, honking the horn, and dodging bicyclists before she was back at the apartment. The drive having put her in a bad mood, Waverly's irritation was only increased by her growling stomach. Her bowl of cereal seemed ages ago. Grumbling to herself, Waverly unlocked the apartment door and swung it a little too forcefully open. The door banged against the wall, and Waverly hissed out a swear.

"Bad morning?"

Shutting the door back, Waverly jumped at the sound of Steve's voice. The agent swiveled around to find Steve seated in the kitchen, a plate of pancakes in front of him.

"A bad drive." Waverly answered. At the smell of Steve's breakfast, Waverly's stomach growled audibly.

"Would you like some?" Steve asked. He pushed the plate towards the center of the table as Waverly sat down across from him.

"Oh, no." Waverly held her hands up and shook her head. "They're yours."

"I made extra. Please."

Waverly gingerly took a pancake from Steve's plate and ate it plain, no syrup or anything. She was just glad to have something to eat. "Thanks," she mumbled around a mouth full.

Steve's nose scrunched up at Waverly's lack of manners and one of his fair haired eyebrows disappeared into his bangs.

Waverly gulped down the food. "Sorry," she said. "I'm used to living with Clint. Manners don't matter so much to him."

Steve's face softened. "It's okay. I've seen worse."

"I bet you have."

Still rather unfamiliar with each other, the two finished their breakfast in silence, with only Waverly commenting on how good the pancakes were and Steve mumbling a modest 'thank you.' When the pair had finished eating, Steve rose and took his plate to the sink.

"Oh, wait," Waverly said, also standing. "I was going to show you how to work the dishwasher."

"I think I've got that figured out," Steve said.

"Then why don't you use it?"

Steve huffed out a sigh and shrugged. "It just seems weird to me, some of this technology. Like people just don't want to work for anything."

Waverly leaned against the counter and opened the stainless steel door of the dishwasher. "I can see how you think that. A lot of stuff we have today is just for lazy people, in my opinion. But I couldn't live without a dishwasher." The agent reached over and took the plate from Steve's hand. She slid it into a slot in the dishwasher's bottom rack. "This is more for convenience. Tell me this, when you were in high school, you went to school, came home, had some chores, but that was it right? Your dad worked, mom stayed home?"

Steve nodded.

"Things aren't like that anymore. Most of the time, moms _and_ dads work. Kids are involved in a lot of things outside of school. Sports, clubs, some have jobs. I started working for SHIELD when I was a junior." Waverly crossed to the sink where Steve had placed the skillet, mixing bowl, and other dishes he had used to make his breakfast. Waverly picked up as much as she could, and placed the dishes in the dishwasher.

Steve grabbed what was left and mimicked the girl's actions. "So, this is because people simply don't have the time to stand at a sink for ten minutes and wash?"

"Pretty much." Waverly said. The dishwasher wasn't near full but she decided to turn it on anyway, to make sure Steve knew the proper button pushing procedure. "Now, while this is running, we're free to go do something else."

"I guess that make sense." Steve said. Waverly watched as he leaned against the counter opposite the dishwasher. His blue eyes were concentrated on the appliance, watching as steam issued from behind the closed door. Seeing him standing there, transfixed by such a simple part of everyday life, made Waverly realize just how old Steve was. He was like the great-grandparents of her friends from high school; the ones who didn't understand all the "new-fangled" gadgets of this generation. But, to someone who didn't know his story, to most of the world, Steve looked like a typical twenty-something guy. He had neat, short hair, sharp features, big muscles. Waverly had to admit that Steve was attractive as any other guy his age. But the way he dressed, the way he talked, he'd never fit in. Waverly wasn't worried that Steve would be made fun of for his old-fashioned ideals, she was just worried he'd be lonely. This assignment wasn't supposed to last forever. If she could accomplish anything, Waverly just hoped she could help Steve make a few friends; especially some outside the scope of SHEILD.

"How 'bout I go get changed and we go to the mall?" Waverly asked the captain, pushing herself off of the counter.

"Um, sure." Steve answered.

"Cool." Waverly exited the kitchen and headed towards her room. "I can show you my car, and while we're at the mall, maybe get you some clothes to help you fit in more."

"Waverly, they had cars in the 40's."

"Yeah, but not like mine." The young agent turned back to face Steve and shot him a mischievous smile. "Clint taught me how to drive. You're in for an eye opening ride."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks to all the reviews and favorites so far! Um... I don't have too much to say here... there was something but I can't remember... Oh, if anyone is interested, my other Avengers story, Loki Match, now has a cover photo of a drawing I did of Waverly. It's not the best but... At the end when Steve is telling Waverly about himself, I based that loosely off of the back story of Steve from the comics. I hope you enjoy!**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Three:

Steve sat in the passenger seat of Waverly's car. He had ridden his motorcycle into battle, parachuted out of a plane, zip-lined onto a speeding train, and crash landed Red Skull's jet. Riding with Waverly through the streets of New York was by far the scariest thing he had experienced thus far. It wasn't that the girl was a bad driver; things just had changed since Steve was last in a car. Steve clutched the handle of his door as the car whizzed around another sharp turn. Waverly had finally maneuvered out of the main city and was driving along not so busy suburban roads.

"You okay?" The agent asked. She took her eyes off the road to glance at Steve.

"I'm fine." The soldier answered. "Just… um… did driving laws change while I was out?"

Steve relaxed a bit as Waverly slowed the car to stop at a red light. He looked over at her to see she was smiling. "You don't like my driving?" She asked.

"It's just… fast."

Waverly let out a laugh. "Sorry. I like driving fast. Cars are faster now-a-days. Speed limits are higher. Plus, my car's a stick shift; you gotta drive cars like mine fast."

Steve nodded. "Right." He looked back out the window as Waverly took off again. Her small car sped past what the girl called a minivan. Finally passing something called an SUV, which looked somewhat like a fancy military Jeep, Waverly pulled the car into the parking lot of the mall. Waverly parked the car and released herself from the seatbelt. Steve followed suit. One the pair was out of the car, Waverly locked it with a click of a button on her keychain.

"So, this is the mall?" Steve asked.

"Well, it's a mall." Waverly answered. She led Steve through the automatic doors of the building. "It's one of the smaller malls around here. I figured the malls in the city would me a bit crowded and loud."

"I've been asleep for seventy years," Steve said, smiling down at the girl, "I'm not afraid of people and loud noises."

Steve noticed Waverly's cheeks flush the slightest shade of pink. "That's not what I meant," she said. "I thought it would just be easier to get you used to some stuff."

Steve said nothing but followed the girl into a clothing store. The store was dimly lit and a strange musk smell hung in the air. Music was playing but Steve had no idea what kind of music it was. The person singing, if you could call it that, was mostly just mumbling words and the bass thumped loudly in the background. A sign above the entrance indicated that the store was called 'Hollister.'

Milling about the shop were young men and women around Steve's age as well as teenagers and a few children who looked no older than ten. Scanning the room, Steve's first impression of the store was that it contained clothes that seamed suitable for roaming the beach. Steve followed the SHEILD agent to the back corner of the room.

"Any of this look like something you'd like?" Waverly asked.

Steve watched as she pulled a shirt down from a shelf. She unfolded it and held it up for the captain to see. Steve raised an eyebrow. The shirt was a bright pink with a stiff collar and the store's logo on the left side. Steve shook his head. Waverly folded the shirt back up and pulled down another. This one was a pale blue and button down. The logo was rather small and not very noticeable. It wasn't too bad. Steve took the shirt from Waverly and held it up to his chest.

"This one is all right."

Waverly smiled and reached for another. Fifteen minutes later, the pair had gone through maybe thirty shirts and Steve had only found three that he liked; the blue button down, a crisp white t-shirt, and a red, long-sleeved cotton t-shirt. Waverly had tried to convince Steve to try some shirts that weren't so plain and old-fashioned looking, but the soldier had declined. Steve had listened while Waverly explained the styles of the day, showing Steve the types of clothes her brother and her boyfriend wore. They just didn't appeal to Steve's taste.

Steve slung his three shirts over his arm and followed Waverly to the other side of the room where the pants were located. Here was yet another rack upon rack of ridiculous looking clothing. Steve declined a pair of shorts that were pink and yellow plaid. He said no to a pair of jeans that became narrower the closer they came to the ankles. And when Waverly held up a pair of jeans with more holes and rips than actual fabric, Steve actually laughed. The girl had finally convinced Steve on a pair of jeans that simply had a faded pattern on the front sides and a pair of khaki dress pants.

As the pair walked to the registers at the front of the store, Steve actually noticed something that he rather liked. He told Waverly to hold on and wove his way through racks of shirts. On a small display near the fitting rooms, Steve found a soft, brown leather jacket. It was fashioned after the style of a World War II fighter pilot's uniform. Steve found a jacket that would fit him and slipped it on her his blue, V-neck t-shirt. Turning back to Waverly, the soldier said, "I'll take this too."

The cashier rang up their purchases and Steve's eyes widened when the bleach blonde girl read out their total. "A hundred and forty dollars?"

"Yeah," Waverly said. Steve watched as she pulled plastic credit card from her purse. "It's not too bad. At least your jacket was on sale."

"I can't ask you to pay for all this," Steve said.

"It's okay." Waverly handed the card over to the cashier. "SHEILD gave me an allowance to buy you anything you might need. Clothes fall under that category."

The cashier handed Waverly back her card. Steve watched while the girl bagged up their purchases. Steve could never remember spending so much on clothes in his life. In fact, during the war, he remembered wearing pants that were slightly too small because he had donated much of his wardrobe to help displaced European citizens. This all seemed a bit frivolous to the war veteran. Steve sighed as he took the plastic bag from the cashier. Still, if this was what would help him find his place in the world, Steve knew it had to be done. He couldn't sit in his apartment forever, and quite frankly he didn't want to. There was still so much injustice in the world. As soon as Waverly completed her assignment, as soon as Steve was comfortable with the world around him, he'd suit up again. He'd jump back into battle and right the wrongs that plagued the world.

Steve followed Waverly to the mall's food court. Here was another new sight. A variety of restaurants lined the walls; everything from pizza, deep fried anything, gourmet ice cream, and Japanese sushi. People roamed between the food stands, sipping beverages from plastic cups. Waverly wound her way between the tables. Steve followed. Setting his bag in an empty seat, Steve dropped down into a plastic chair across from Waverly.

"They have a Japanese place here?" Steve asked. He could still remember the fear that all of America felt after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He remembered the animosity and the prejudice against Japanese-Americans. Steve didn't buy into all of that; but he still remembered it.

"Yeah," Waverly said slowly. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"During the war," Steve said, "People didn't trust Japanese-Americans. They were all placed in internment camps."

Waverly nodded, comprehension dawning on her face. "Ooh, right. Yeah after the government realized what big asses they were being, the descendants were compensated."

"That still doesn't make it right," Steve said.

Waverly shrugged. "I know. That's the thing about today's world. Money runs everything. If there's a problem, throw money at it 'till it's fixed. What do you want for lunch?"

Steve scanned the food court once more. "Pizza is fine with me."

"Okay, we can split a small one. To drink?"

"Coke."

Waverly nodded and stood up. Steve watched Waverly take a few steps towards the pizza place before she turned back. She dug around in her purse for the credit card from SHIELD. "Why don't you do it?"

Steve sighed. "Okay." He took the card from the agent and headed to the pizza place. He stood in line behind a mother with her three rowdy children. When it was Steve's turn to order, he stepped up to the counter.

The cashier didn't even look up from the touch screen when he asked, "How are you sir? What can I get you?"

Steve's eyebrow jumped up his forehead. The cashier couldn't have been older than sixteen. His tone was flat and he leaned against the register with a bored look on his face. Back when Steve was his age, it was unheard of for adolescents to act so disrespectfully; especially when one was employed in customer service.

"I'll have a small pepperoni pizza," Steve said. "And a medium Coke."

The cashier, his dirty name tag indicated his name was Mike, pressed a few buttons on the screen. "Anything else?" The kid finally looked up at Steve. "Whoa, dude. Are you on steroids?"

Steve chose to ignore Mike's last comment. He did realize that he wasn't finished with his order. Waverly needed something to drink. Steve thought back to their meal at McDonald's. He was pretty sure Waverly had ordered a root beer. "And a medium root beer."

Mike huffed at being ignored and jabbed another button on the screen. "Whatever, man. Your total is 13 dollars, 53 cents."

Steve held out the credit card. The cashier looked at it, then at Steve and raised an eyebrow. "You swipe it dude." Mike pointed down at a small square screen in front of the register.

Steve looked down at it. A picture indicated that he was supposed to hold the card a certain way and then swipe it across the little machine. Steve did as indicated. The screen flashed and then brought up a white box. Steve looked back up at Mike.

"Now you sign," Mike said as if speaking to a two-year-old.

Steve picked up a plastic pen attached by a wire to the device. He scrawled his signature in the white box.

"Press done." Mike drawled.

As the words left the teen's mouth, Steve noticed a small yellow box pop up above his name that said 'done.' He clicked on it with the pen.

The register whirred and a slip of paper issued from the machine. Mike tore it from the register and handed it to Steve. "Just step down there and your order will be ready."

Steve followed the edge of the counter down to an area where other young workers were handing over plates of pizza and cups of soda. Steve waited until a young woman called out, "Small pizza! Coke and root beer!"

"That's mine, ma'am." Steve stepped forward. The girl handed him his meal, looking oddly at him.

"You're welcome."

Steve nodded. "Have a good afternoon." Steve left the girl gawking awkwardly at him and made his way back to the table where Waverly sat waiting. He sat down and placed the pizza between them. Then, he handed Waverly her cup. "I got you a root beer. I hope that's all right. You forgot to mention what you wanted."

Waverly smiled. "Oh! Thanks. Root beer is fine." The girl took her cup, and then the credit card, and eagerly dug into the pizza.

Once Steve and Waverly had both scarfed down a slice of pizza each, the captain wiped his face with a napkin. "So," he said, "I still don't feel like I know you very well. How about before you tell me more about… everything… you tell me about yourself?"

Waverly gulped down a mouthful of root beer. "Okay." She stayed silent for a moment, eyes focused on the ceiling, tongue between her teeth while she thought. "Well, you know Clint is my brother. Let see, I've never met my parents. Clint said they died when I was little, so from what I can remember, he raised me." While Waverly paused to think of something else, her purse clattered around the table top. "Oh! Excuse me." Steve watched the agent dive into her purse to retrieve her vibrating cell phone. Waverly slid her thumb across the screen and put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

Steve tried not to eavesdrop, but with Waverly only feet from him, it was hard not to overhear her phone conversation.

"Yeah. Yeah I know – Look, I know we had plans but I told you something came up. I can't just ignore it, this is my job. Okay fine. Yeah. You too. Bye." Waverly pushed a button on the phone and returned the device to her purse. Looking back at Steve, she said, "Sorry about that. That was my boyfriend."

Steve nodded.

Waverly's cheeks flushed pink and she dropped her gaze to her lap. "He doesn't always understand that my job has to come first and I can't exactly tell him I'm a SHILED agent." From her tone, Steve could guess that the girl was embarrassed to admit this, but at the same time was longing to talk about her boyfriend problems. Her next sentence confirmed Steve's suspicions. "I don't mean to bother you when this. It probably sounds stupid. But it just helps to vent sometimes. I can't really talk to Clint about this stuff. He's scared away every boyfriend I've had since high school. He doesn't really know about Riley."

"Riley's your boyfriend?"

"Yeah. He's great. Just… has a temper sometimes."

Steve shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "That's unfortunate."

Waverly shrugged and shook herself. "Don't worry about it." She looked back up to the captain and gave a sad smile. "What were we talking about?"

"You were telling me about yourself."

"Oh, right."

Steve listened as Waverly told him about her interests and hobbies. She told him about her relationship with Clint, but steered clear of her relationship with her boyfriend. Once the pair finished their lunch, Steve felt like he knew the agent a lot better. As they walked out back to the car, it was Steve's turn to talk.

"Tell me more about yourself."

Steve thought for a moment. Most of the stories he could tell Waverly, most of his memories were painful. But if he was going to be sharing an apartment with her, she should know about his life as well.

"My parents died when I was young as well. I don't remember much about them. I went to college to study fine arts, but when the war started, I wanted to join the military. I tried five different times before they finally let me in."

"How come?"

Steve chuckled. "Well, I didn't always look like this. Before they injected me with the serum, I was a good five inches shorter and eighty pounds lighter. Muscles didn't exist on my body before my transformation."

"Hard to imagine you a scrawny." Waverly laughed.

"I was. My best friend, Bucky, he was more the kind of image you thought of when someone said soldier. We grew up together." Steve sighed. "He was like a brother to me."

Steve's voice dropped off and he became silent. He was thankful Waverly could read his emotions enough to let the subject go. When the pair reached the car, Waverly broke the silence.

"Why did you want to be Captain America?"

Steve looked up at her and met her eyes. "I don't like bullies."

* * *

On the way home, Waverly suggested stopping at a grocery store a few blocks from the apartment. Steve agreed, his mind wandering back to his nearly empty refrigerator back home and the bare cabinets. Ever since his first trip to the store, he hadn't been eager to go back. So now, Steve followed Waverly through the aisles as she pushed the metal shopping cart.

Steve had grown up not exactly poor, but not rich either. His family lived modestly and only bought what they needed. It was a little odd watching as Waverly pulled things off the shelf that weren't entirely necessary for sustenance; cookies, ice cream, soda pop. They reached the produce section where Steve did much of the picking.

"God, I feel so unhealthy now," Waverly said as Steve placed a bunch of bananas into the cart.

The soldier laughed. "Skinny girl like you? You've gotta eat more than cookies and ice cream."

Waverly snorted. "Sadly, no. I just have a high metabolism."

Steve began dropping apples into a plastic produce bag. "High metabolism? I age at slower than any human on this planet. I slept for seventy years. In ice. You think your metabolism is high?" Steve laughed. "I can't even get drunk. My body burns off the alcohol."

"Can't get drunk?" Waverly waved a hand. "Yeah right. I bet I can out drink you."

Steve placed the apples in the cart and raised both eyebrows in surprise. He let out a snort of laughter. "Even if I wasn't Captain America, I could out drink you. You're so little, I bet you'd be drunk after one beer. Besides, you're twenty, too young to even drink."

Now Waverly was the one laughed. "With Clint as my older brother, I learned how to hold down my alcohol. He's let me drink with him before."

Steve's look of surprise transitioned into a look of disapproval. The soldier had become used to drinking and the ill effects of alcohol from his time in the army. He didn't think of the beverage as horrible and inappropriate as he did growing up. But the thought of Clint allowing his younger sister, who was legally underage, drink with him… Steve just couldn't imagine being comfortable with that idea. If he had a sister, especially one who was underage, he'd never let her drink, no matter how "acceptable" society deemed the activity.

The pair was just finishing up their shopping when Steve jumped at the sound of a girlish shriek. He turned to see a young woman run down the aisle and throw her arms around Waverly.

"Waverly!" The girl exclaimed. "It's so good to see you." The girls parted and held each other at arm's length.

"Sarah, wow, I haven't seen you since high school!" Waverly said, her face in a huge smile.

The girl named Sarah released her friend and looked over Waverly's shoulder. "Wow, is this your boyfriend?"

Both Waverly and Steve blushed lightly at this question. Waverly let out an awkward laugh. "No, no. He's my…"

"I'm her roommate."

Sarah nodded, unconvinced. "Well," she said turning back to Waverly, "If your roommate ever wants to go out sometime, I'm available."

Waverly rolled her eyes and pulled Sarah a little ways down the aisle. Though the girls spoke in hushed tones, Steve could still hear them.

"Look, Steve isn't your type."

"Have you seen him!" Sarah whispered, gesturing at the soldier. "He's gorgeous. Of course he's my type."

Waverly smacked her friend playfully on the arm. "You really haven't changed since high school." Her tone was irritated but Steve saw a small smile on her face. Waverly pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Give me your number. We'll need to catch up sometime."

Sarah opened her mouth.

"Without Steve," Waverly stressed.

Steve watched while the girls exchanged numbers. A few short minutes later, Waverly had said good bye to her old friend and rejoined Steve at the cart. "Sorry about her," the agent mumbled.

"It's fine." Steve said. It wasn't the first time he had experience a woman throwing herself at him. Still, that didn't make the experience any less awkward. "By the way, you _can_ call me a friend," Steve went on. His voice held a hint of playfulness. "I think we can call ourselves friends. You're really the only person I talk to regularly; besides the manager of the gym down the street."

Waverly responded by rolling her eyes playfully. "Okay Steve. We're friends."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I realized that this story was moving a little slowly so I threw some stuff in this chapter that'll hopefully speed things up a bit. Next chapter will be from Steve's POV. Just a note, I know in the movie Coulson is the one who tells Steve about Bruce, but I realized that after I wrote this and I really liked the conversation Waverly and Steve have about the Hulk, so I decided to keep it. Thanks for the reviews! I hope you enjoy. Please review and give me some feedback.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Four:

Waverly was sitting cross-legged on the couch. After they had put away their groceries, Steve had offered to make dinner. Waverly was a little uncomfortable, after all she was there to help Steve, not the other way around. But, giving the man food poisoning wasn't about to help anything. So, Waverly sat on the couch with her laptop cradled on a pillow in her lap. The TV was on, but the volume was low so the roommates could talk. Their current discussion, Facebook. Well, actually, the internet in its entirety.

"It was actually first developed by the military," Waverly said. She scanned the Wikipedia page on the screen in front of her. "I thought you'd find that interesting."

"What was it used for?" Steve asked from the kitchen.

Waverly looked up from her computer. Steve's back was to her and he was stirring something on the stove. Waverly was immeasurably thankful that stoves were something that had been around in the 40's. If she had had to teach Steve how to use an oven… well the fire department would probably have been involved. "It was a way for all the different agencies to stay in contact," she answered. "It was actually in its early stages during World War II."

Steve nodded. "I was a bit busy around that time."

"The real internet boom was in the late eighties, early nineties," Waverly continued. "That's when computers finally became small enough for people to own in their homes." Waverly clicked on a picture of an ancient looking desk top. She held her computer up and turned it toward the kitchen. "See?"

Steve looked over his shoulder, holding a wooden spoon to his lips. "Mm hmm," he mumbled.

"The ones the army first used were bigger than your apartment."

Steve set his spoon down and came into the living room. "You gotta stop that," he said. "It's yours too."

Waverly laughed. "Technically, it's SHIELD's."

Steve made a face of agreement and then returned to the kitchen. "So, how did they get them to be so small? Like yours."

Waverly placed her computer on the coffee table. "I have no clue. But just like everything, as time goes on people find ways to make things faster, better, smaller." Waverly put her laptop in sleep mode and then joined Steve in the kitchen. The room was small and with Steve's muscles taking up most of it, Waverly ducked around the soldier as she pulled plates down for dinner. She was just finishing up setting the table when Steve asked the question she was dreading answering.

"What did they do to make people like me better?" The soldier was not looking at her, his eyes focused on the simmering pot and wooden spoon before him.

Waverly let out a sigh. She had been warned of this. She had been prepared. Of course, she already knew about Bruce Banner; who didn't? Aside from what the media released to the public, Waverly also knew much more about the doctor. She, after all, compiled his file for Agent Coulson. But still, Waverly knew Steve would be the type of person to assume some of the blame for what had happened to Banner.

"Waverly?" Steve questioned. He finally looked up at her.

"Well," she said, her mind reaching to the corner of her mind that had this information tucked away. "As you well know, when Erksine was killed, the secret to the serum went with him. But when legend spread of what you did, you became a legend. You were the first super hero. People searched for you after you took that plane down. Years and years were spent looking for you. You brought hope, made people feel safe." Waverly paused trying to discern the look on Steve's face. It was an odd mix of modest embarrassment and disappointment. There was a flicker of sadness too. And pride. "When a lot of people gave up on looking for you, scientists thought it would be easier to just replicate the serum. Erksine's formula was roughed out pretty easily. It was common knowledge that vita rays were involved. But the exact mixture of chemicals, the exact ratio of serum to vita rays could never be figured out."

Dinner sat forgotten on the stove as Steve listened intently to Waverly. The part of the story she wanted to tell least was coming up. And she knew Steve sensed it, even before he asked, "What happened, Waverly? What happened to the scientist that did it?"

"His name's Bruce Banner." Waverly went back in the living room to retrieve her laptop. She typed quickly into Google and brought up Banner's picture. Showing Steve, she continued, "The guy's a genius. But something went wrong." Waverly turned the computer back to her. She quickly typed something else into Google. A picture of the Hulk popped up. "It wasn't pleasant to say the least," she said, swiveling the laptop back around so Steve could see.

Waverly watched Steve's eyes widen. He bent lower over the laptop to look at the picture. The Hulk was perched on a half-destroyed building, a car door swinging from his free hand.

"He becomes what the people called 'The Incredible Hulk.' He's got all the super strength you do. Even more to be honest. He can jump like nobody's business." Waverly closed the computer and placed it on the counter. "But he struggles to control himself in this form. Anger triggers the change."

Steve turned silently back to the stove and finished up dinner preparations in silence. Waverly slumped in her seat and studied the captain's back. She could tell he was struggling with his own inner demons.

"He lived," Waverly said, trying to sound comforting. "SHEILD keeps an eye on him. We make sure he's in a stable condition. He's in India, right now, helping the people as a doctor. He hasn't had an… episode for over a year now."

Steve nodded but didn't look relieved. "I shouldn't have put that plane down." The soldier's voice was a quiet mumble.

"What?" Waverly asked, a tad confused. How did they get back on the subject of the plane?

"I should have found another way. If I hadn't been frozen in the ocean for seventy years, that doctor wouldn't have done what he did to himself." Steve's grip on the wooden spoon increased to the point that the wood split in his fist.

Waverly had dealt with instances like this before. Her brother was an assassin. He had come home from several missions with guilt hanging over him. Sure, he usually kept himself detached from his emotions when he was on the job, but there were exceptions. Like the time he brought back Natasha. So, Waverly rose from her seat and joined Steve at the stove. Still a tad uncomfortable with the soldier, she awkwardly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't do that to yourself," she said. "Banner knew the risks. You're not to blame for any of this." Waverly knew that Steve's post-traumatic stress disorder was probably contributing to his feelings of guilt. She reached across the counter and grabbed his bottle of Prozac. With her free hand, she tugged at the broken spoon in Steve's hand. He released his grip and she traded him the spoon for his Prozac.

"Take it," she said. "And let's eat. I'm starving. Whatever you made smells great." Waverly gave Steve a reassuring smile before she tossed the broken spoon into the waste basket underneath the kitchen sink.

Sitting back at the table, Waverly heard Steve sigh and the click of a pill bottle being opened. "It's spaghetti," Steve said after he gulped down his prescribed dosage. "That's about the only decent thing I can make."

Waverly's stomach growled loudly as Steve dropped a spoonful of noodles onto the girl's plate. "Well it looks great."

Steve served himself and then set the pot of homemade spaghetti sauce in the middle of the table. Waverly spooned the sauce on her plate and mixed it into the tangle of noodles. She dug eagerly into the meal, before Steve had even sauced his own plate.

"Oh wow." She said, hiding her full mouth behind a napkin. "You're doing all the cooking. This is good!"

Waverly was pleased when a delighted chuckled escaped the soldier's lips, no matter how soft it was. "Well, thank you."

After engulfing half of her plate, Waverly slowed her rate of spaghetti intake so she could resume her discussion of the internet with Steve. She had just finished explaining Facebook to him when they had finished their meal. Waverly was cleaning up the dinner mess, placing soiled pots and plates into the dishwasher.

"But what's the point of it?" Steve asked from the table. He was sipping on the remainder of his milk, watching Waverly over the back of his chair.

Waverly laughed. "Honestly, there really is no point to Facebook." She shut the dishwasher and turned the device on. "I mean, it's a way for people to stay in touch."

"Don't people use the telephone anymore?"

Waverly gave a shrug. "It's all about virtual communication now. Everything's either online or texting. But, aside from that, Facebook isn't all that great."

"And the guy who made it is a millionaire?"

"Yup."

Steve shook his head. "A million dollars just for making something that people don't even need?"

Waverly joined Steve back at the table with a box of Oreos for dessert. "Some people are obsessed with the site. They check it nonstop throughout the day. I never got real into it, though. I mean, I creep on it but that's about it."

"Creep?"

"Facebook stalking." Waverly explained. "It's when you look at other people's profiles and see what they're doing, who they're talking to." At Steve's raised eyebrow, the girl continued. "It's not as weird as it sounds. It's just something people do these days. Like, if I met you at a club or something and I was interested in you, I would probably go home and type your name into Facebook and look up your profile. If you put enough on your page, I could know all about you without having asked a single question."

Steve shook his blonde head once more. "Just something else to eliminate actual human interaction."

"Yup, pretty much."

Steve took an Oreo, still looking baffled by the concept of Facebook. "I just don't understand, though. The guy made millions of this. Shouldn't… I don't know… that kind of money should be for something like what Erksine did. Something worthwhile."

"I agree," Waverly said, taking a cookie as well. "If we paid doctors and scientists and engineers the way we pay actors, singers, athletes, and Mark Zuckerburg, there would be so many world problems we could solve."

"Maybe your generation can change that," Steve said.

Waverly sighed, then let out a laugh. "My generation? You mean ours. You may have been born in the 1920's but physically, you're still 23 years old."

"Then maybe we can change it."

Another laugh escaped the female agent's lips. "Yeah sure. As soon as we dig the earbuds out of everyone's ears and rip their thumbs away from their cell phones. We might have to shut down Facebook too, while we're at it."

Steve shrugged. "If I am as big of a legend as you say I am, I think I can have some influence over people. When I'm back in this world, I plan on making a difference again."

Waverly locked gazes with Steve. The intensity in his blue eyes showed how committed he was with that statement. She knew he'd do great things for this country, whether or not he was employed by SHIELD, once he had adjusted to his new life. Waverly just hoped she would be able to teach him everything he needed to know. Steve said something about showering before he went to bed, but Waverly was too lost in her own thoughts to hear it. As Steve's back retreated from the kitchen, she called out a nearly forgotten, "Thanks for dinner."

Waverly heard Steve call back, "You're welcome," before she heard the click of the lock on the bathroom door. The shower turned on and Waverly cleaned up their dessert. The agent then vanished into her room to finally finish unpacking. The job was slow, her thoughts weighing her down. Steve had such a good heart and he was so troubled by everything that happened. Waverly wasn't anything special. She wasn't a psychologist, she wasn't a scientist, she was just a secretary. How could she be expected to detangle Steve's web of confusion and help him adjust?

As Waverly finished putting her clothes away, she had a comforting thought. _Fury wanted you for this job. He must think there's something you can do for Steve._

Waverly wasn't sure what time it was when she finally gave up unpacking and went to bed. She was, however, strikingly aware of what time it was when she woke up. It was far, far too early. Glancing at the clock, Waverly saw that it was three in the morning. She sat up in bed and stretched before realizing what had caused her to be awake at such an hour. She had heard screaming. Waverly jumped from her bed and bolted from the room.

Steve's bedroom door was closed, but light peeked out from the crack above the floor. It was Steve who had screamed. Waverly's slippered feet padded to a stop outside the soldier's door. She knocked gently, aware of the sound of rapid breathing.

"Steve? Are you all right?"

Waverly listened while Steve calmed himself and brought his breathing back under control. A moment later, he had opened the door. The soldier was dressed in plaid flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt. The shirt was drenched in sweat and clung to his muscles.

"I – I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Steve seemed rather flustered. He rubbed sweat off his forehead and looked awkwardly down at Waverly. He didn't meet her eye and a slight flush painted his cheeks.

"It's okay," Waverly said. "What happened?"

Steve let out a sigh through clenched teeth. Waverly could tell his was struggling with something and was feeling embarrassed. A hand nervously ruffling his hair, Steve answered. "I – I had a nightmare."

Comprehension dawned on Waverly's face. She sighed and leaned against the hallway wall. He was having flashbacks of the war. It was his post-traumatic stress disorder acting up. Dealing with his nightmares was a battle Steve needed to face on his own; Waverly was just here to acquaint him with modern times. But, that didn't mean she couldn't help him out a little. Waverly thought back to the days when she was a little girl and had nightmares about being kidnapped. Always kidnapped. The dreams had haunted her throughout much of her childhood. Despite being a no-holds-barred assassin, Clint had quite the soft spot for his sister and helped her through her nightmares. Waverly still remembered what the archer had done when she woke him with her screams. "Come with me," she said to Steve.

Waverly led Steve into the kitchen. She flipped on the light and started pulling things out of the cupboard.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked.

"Hot chocolate," she answered. Waverly turned on the stove and placed a pot of water to boil. "It's what my brother always gave me when I had nightmares. It'll help you sleep."

Waverly sat at the table beside Steve. She wanted to ask what Steve's dream was about, but knew better. So instead, she sat silently and waited for Steve to do the talking.

Steve wasn't about to talk, though. He stood suddenly from the table and stalked from the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Waverly called after him.

"To the gym," Steve answered shortly.

"Steve, it's three A.M."

"The manager gave me a spare key." Steve pulled a gym back from the closet near the front door and slipped his boots onto his feet. "He said I'm there enough. I might as well lock up for him a few nights."

Waverly huffed but bit back an annoyed retort. Abandoning the hot chocolate, she followed Steve into the living room. "Is that what you do every time you can't sleep?"

"Yes." Steve grabbed his keys and opened the door.

"Steve, you can't deal with your nightmares like this." Waverly put her hand on the door and closed it again. "I'm supposed to be helping you. You can't run off to the gym every time you have a nightmare."

Steve wrenched the door back open but gently pushed Waverly to the side. "I don't need to be treated like a child."

With that, the captain stepped into the hallway and shut the apartment door behind him. Waverly gritted her teeth and leaned her back against the door. Yeah, confessing that you had woke up screaming from a nightmare seemed childish. Sure, hot chocolate seemed childish as well. But, Waverly thought, sometimes that's what people need. Plenty of war veterans suffered from recurring nightmares. Steve's case was slightly different in the fact that he didn't fight the known villain of World War II, Hitler, he fought Red Skull and not many people knew that whole story. And, due to the fact that Steve had essentially been in suspended animation for seventy years, his case was much different from most soldiers. Still, there had to be something that would help him deal with his problems.

Knowing it was a huge violation of the soldier's privacy, Waverly ventured into his room. The light was still on. The room was stark white and void of any sort of personal touch; except for the gleaming shield propped up in the corner of the room. Steve's sheets had been thrown on the floor, no doubt due to his nightmare. On the bedside table, an open envelope with a letter spilling out bathed in the lamplight.

Waverly briefly wondered who'd be writing to Steve. The thought never occurred to her that Steve may very well be writing the letter to someone else. Ignoring the knot in her stomach that screamed at her, Waverly further violated Steve's privacy and picked up the piece of paper. Sitting on the bed, she began to read.

_Peggy,_

_I wish I had had the time to thank you for everything. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish all that I had done. You and Dr. Erksine were two of the few who believed in me from the beginning. I appreciate everything that the both of you sacrificed, not only to help me, but to help the world. My only regret is that I never told you how I felt about you. We made a date to go dancing. I wish I had been able to make it. I think I finally found the right partner. Where ever you are, I hope you are happy._

_ ~Steve_

Waverly heaved a deep sigh and ran a hand through her hair. She set the letter down, switched Steve's light off, and returned to her room. Waverly slipped off her slippers and slid back into bed. Reading the letter Steve had wrote bothered her, she wasn't quite sure why. She felt sorry for Steve, but a nagging feeling in the back of her mind told her there was more to it. Waverly plucked her phone from her bedside table and quickly typed herself a note. Using her resources at SHIELD, Waverly would find out who this Peggy was. Maybe this Peggy would unlock some of the secrets of Steve's past and help Waverly better help the soldier.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Just a quick note. I'm moving and starting grad school soon so updates for all my stories may take some time. I'll be busy so I won't be updating as frequently as I have been. As for this story... I think maybe 3 ish more chapters and then we'll get into the movie... Thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/ect. Please review! I hope you enjoy.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Five:

Steve had been punching the punching bag for what only felt like a few minutes. In all actuality, the sun had started to peek over the horizon when Steve finally called it quits. He unwrapped his hands, placing the wrappings into his gym bag. He took a towel from the bag and wiped the sweat from his face. His dream had been about Bucky. No one had gone back to retrieve the fallen soldier's body; at least to Steve's knowledge they hadn't. That thought haunted him more than the fact that his friend was dead. Bucky was ready and willing to sacrifice everything for the war effort; and he had. He deserved a proper soldier's funeral. But, without a body, there certainly had to be a closed casket funeral. Bucky's body was never properly laid to rest.

Steve had tried and tried to locate some member of Bucky's family ever since he had awakened. He needed some closure. Maybe on of Bucky's family members could shed some light on Bucky's fate. Maybe then Steve could sleep a little easier. The thought of his friend's body, frozen and lost in the mountains of Europe, that thought was almost too much to bear. But, Bucky hadn't been married, so he had no wife of children to look for. His parents would have been long passed. Steve knew his friend had a younger brother, but the brothers were so far separated in age, Steve had never really met the younger sibling and couldn't remember his name.

So, as much as it pained Steve, he had to let go of Bucky for the time being. Ever since the soldier had made this revelation, his friend had frequented his nightmares. So, Steve changed his focus to Peggy. This only made things worse. He was burdened with an overwhelming sense of guilt. When he had promised her to make their date, he knew he wasn't going to make it. But, the captain had still clung to the faintest ray of hope. As the plane sped toward the icy water below, Steve had hoped that somehow, someway, he would survive and fulfill his promise to Peggy.

He had survived. But he hadn't been able to make their date. Steve didn't know anything about Peggy's family, as so discovering her fate was even harder than discovering Bucky's. Steve knew she had been born in Britain, that was about it. What became of her after the war? Did she mourn for him? Surely she did. Steve was almost positive that she had had feelings for him as well.

Steve swung his bag over his shoulder and ran a hand through his sweat drenched hair. He knew he needed to stop dwelling on his friends. They were gone. He had to move on. Feeling sorry for them and himself wasn't going to change anything about his current situation. The only thing Steve could do was move forward. He would have to start taking Waverly's advice. The super soldier suddenly felt guilty that he had snapped at the girl and stormed out of the apartment. She was just trying to help him. Steve decided that he would make a nice breakfast for her to make up for his rudeness. After a shower of course; no one wanted sweat soaked pancakes.

* * *

Steve's plans for breakfast were thrown out the window upon his return to the apartment. Waverly was awake and was milling about the apartment. Her hair was still a disheveled mess, suggesting she had just gotten out of bed. The girl had her phone pressed to her ear. Steve could tell she had been crying, but right now, she was thrashing her arms about, yelling into the phone. Waverly was pacing between the living room and kitchen and took no notice of Steve as he entered the apartment and dropped his gym bag.

"I told you, this is my job! I'm sorry but I'm not at liberty to discuss it. Why?! Because I have orders from my boss. You knew when we started dating that my work was classified."

One of Steve's eyebrows slid up his forehead in confusion. He only heard half of the conversation, but he could surmise that Waverly was on the phone with her boyfriend and they were having a rather heated discussion.

Waverly's tone changed and she dropped onto the couch, still unaware that her conversation was no longer private. "You can't come over." A pained expression crossed her face. "I told you," her voice wavered as if she was about to cry again, "I can't. Not now. This is my job." The sadness vanished in a second. Steve could hear yelling coming from Waverly's boyfriend on the other line, but the words were garbled and Steve couldn't understand what he was saying. Whatever it was, it must have enraged Waverly because she stood up in a huff, face red and eyes blazing. "You what? I can't believe you Riley! No. No, you can't come up – " Waverly stopped abruptly and dropped her phone on the couch. She finally noticed Steve in the doorway.

"Oh god," she mumbled, face turning an ever deeper shade of red.

"What's going on?" Steve asked. He watched as Waverly rushed to the window, looked out it, and then hurried over to the front door. She brushed past Steve and quickly shut the door, sliding the chain lock into place.

"Waverly?" Steve was concerned now. As the girl moved to pass him again, he grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. "What is going on?"

"My boyfriend is here," she said as if that cleared up the situation.

"What's the problem?" Steve wondered.

"Fury is insane." Ah, yes, that made everything make sense. Not.

Steve sighed and half dragged, half carried Waverly to the couch. He gently forced her to sit down. "I am completely lost. What has you all upset?"

Waverly sighed and fidgeted in her seat. "This assignment is top secret," Waverly said. "Fury doesn't want anybody to know that you're here. He's fine with you going out in public under the pretense that you're just a normal guy. The only people that are allowed to come here are SHIELD agents and anybody that may have a tie to you."

Steve looked at Waverly with confusion written all over his face. "Um, so, what exactly is wrong with your boyfriend being here?"

Waverly sighed again. "He knows I moved here for work. He doesn't know that work means living with you." Steve suddenly understood, but by the look on Waverly's face, there was more to it. He urged her on with a look. "If anyone unauthorized comes here and finds out you're you… well first off, I'll be fired."

"Why does Fury want to keep me a secret?" Steve asked.

Waverly opened her mouth to answer but a pounding at the door cut her off. She looked wide eyed at the door, her face paling.

"Waverly! Open up!"

Steve looked away from the door and back to the young agent. In a low voice, he whispered, "If no one is supposed to know about your assignment, how does he know where you live."

"He saw us at the mall yesterday," Waverly whispered back. "He followed us back here."

Steve did not like that answer.

"Waverly!" The voice, presumably Riley's yelled. "I know you're in there!"

Waverly took a breath before she stood up and walked over to the door. Steve remained on the couch. Adrenalin pounded in his ears and he felt his hands ball into fists. He watched as Waverly opened the door, but left the chain locked. Through the crack, he saw a man standing nearly as tall as he did, with muscles almost as big. His head was topped with a buzz cut and his face was red with anger.

"Look, Riley," Waverly said, keeping most of her body behind the door. "I don't want to talk to you right now. You following me here was way out of line."

Riley ignored her and tried to push the door open further. "This is your job, huh? Who was that guy you were with?"

"My colleague," Waverly answered.

Riley's eyes took in Waverly's disheveled appearance and the fact that she was still clothed in flannel pajama pants and a tank top. Then, his deep blue eyes landed on Steve sitting in the couch. "Colleague? You're sleeping with your colleague?"

"No!" Waverly said, stepping away from the door and planting her hands on her hips. "God, what do you think I am? Some kind of slut?"

"You tell me," Riley countered. He wedged his arm into the crack of the door and gestured at Steve. "He's right there, covered in sweat. What do you expect me to think?"

"I expect you to trust me," Waverly snapped.

Steve rose from the couch. He had no intent to get involved, just to forcibly remove Riley from his home if necessary.

Apparently, Steve standing only infuriated Riley further. He pushed on the door until it sagged on its hinges and hung limply to the side. Riley stepped further into the room and before Waverly could back away, he grabbed her by the arm and held her in place.

"Who is he, then?" Riley yelled, shaking Waverly with every word.

"I work with him. We live together out of convenience," Waverly answered, her voice wavering with each shake Riley gave her.

Steve could tell these were answer that Fury had prepared for her, should an occasion such as the one at hand arise. Waverly may have been a SHILED agent, but she was not as skillful as some of SHILED's trained negotiators and spies. Her scripted answers were not placating the enraged mane.

"Convenience my ass," Riley spat. He pushed Waverly backward and made to leave. But, before he made his exit, Riley spun back around and slapped Waverly across the face. The girl gave a weak scream and fell to the floor, clutching her face. "See if you cheat on someone again, you whore." Riley stalked out into the hall and slammed the broken door shut behind him.

Steve was gone in a flash. He ripped the broken door back open and followed Riley out into the hall. The man was moving quickly, so Steve jogged to catch up with him just as he entered the parking garage attached to the apartment complex. Riley was about to slid into his expensive looking sports car when Steve stopped him.

"Hey!"

Riley whipped his head around and spotted Steve. "You had better back off before I lay into you too, pretty boy."

Steve reached Riley and before the smaller man could shut himself into his car, Steve ripped the metal door from its hinge. "I don't think we've met," Steve said, his voice low. "I'm Waverly's coworker; Steve."

Riley gaped from his broken door to Steve. His moment of shock gone, Riley regained his cockiness. "I am going to sue your ass, buddy."

Steve picked Riley up by the collar of his shirt. "You gonna stop making a fool of yourself, son?"

Riley gurgled out an incomprehensible answer.

Steve pulled the man's face closer to his own. "I don't like bullies; especially big cowards like you who hurt women. You ever come around my apartment again, you ever damage my stuff, you ever hit her again, your car door won't be the only thing I tear apart." Steve unceremoniously shoved Riley into the car. He wedged the door back, giving it a kick to jam it into place. Steve gave the pathetic man one last glare before he stalked back into the apartment building.

When Steve made it back to the apartment, he heard running water which barely muffled the sound of tears. The soldier stepped over the broken door and found Waverly hunched over the kitchen sink. She held a damp rag to the cheek that Riley had hit. Her tears fell into the sink, squeezed out from between closed eyelids.

Steve put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped and turned. "It's okay," Steve said, holding up his hands. "It's only me."

Waverly's face was red underneath the rag, and Steve could see the edge of a handprint under the girl's eye. She turned away from him and hung her head in a mix of shame and embarrassment. "You shouldn't have gone after him," she mumbled.

Reaching across Waverly, Steve shut off the tap. He gently tugged the rag away from Waverly and crossed to the freezer. He took out a few ice cubes and placed them in the folds of the rag before handing the cloth back to the girl. "He shouldn't have hit you."

Waverly sniffed and wiped away a fat tear on her already swelling cheek. She gingerly placed the rag back over her cheek with a wince. She let Steve led her to the couch, but didn't meet his eyes.

"Has he hit you before?" Steve asked.

Waverly shook her head. "He's shoved me. Never hit."

Steve stomach churned with a mix of anger. He was mad at Riley for treating Waverly like he did; men should never lay a hand on a woman, especially out of anger. But the captain was also mad at Waverly for not removing herself from a potentially dangerous situation. There was also something else nagging him, but he was too riled up from the current situation to place a name to the feeling.

"What did you do to him?" Waverly asked quietly.

Steve raised an eyebrow. "You're worried I hurt him?"

"No," Waverly sniffled, shaking her head. "I just… You didn't have to go after him. It's my problem, not yours."

"I put him in his place," Steve answered. Then, in a softer voice, he added, "You're doing so much to help me. The least I can do is defend your honor."

Waverly made a noise that sounded like a mix between a huff of laughter and a sob. She then hiccupped and brushed the remaining tears from her eyes. "You're so old fashioned, Steve." Her face finally tilted up and she met Steve's gaze. "Thank you."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Okay, so I'm all moved in but school starts this week so updates will still be a little slow. In a few more chapters we'll get to the start of The Avengers. I hope you enjoy. Please review and thank you to those who have reviewed so far.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Six:

After her eventful morning, Waverly sat curled up on the couch, her laptop balanced on her knees. Steve was engrossed in a show Waverly had seen many times before; Mythbusters. Glancing over at the armchair, Waverly had to smile. Steve was completely transfixed. The soldier's blue eyes were wide and he was hunched forward, drinking in every word that spilled from the television's speakers. Who could blame him for being so excited? The current episode was about the moon landing. To Waverly, this was old news and a little boring; but to Steve, it was fascinating.

Waverly transferred her gaze from the captain back to her computer screen. She was logged in to SHEILD's data base and was looking through Steve's file. She had read this many times in preparation for the assignment but was now combing through every line of text searching for a clue as to who Peggy was. Of course, the agent could have just asked Steve who she was, but she didn't want to trigger a flashback or anything. Right now, Waverly could tell Steve was content. Every once in a while, usually during commercials, his leg would bounce a certain number of times, but other than that, his mind seemed to be at ease.

Finding a document that contained information on Steve's military unit, Waverly finally found something interesting. There was a woman in Steve's unit by the name of Peggy Carter. The document contained a link to information on the woman, so Waverly clicked on the blue text. She scanned a file before her. Peggy was an English soldier who came to America. She had been an officer in the Strategic Scientific Reserve, which was involved in the Captain America experiment. The SHIELD file was so in depth, Waverly found out everything about the woman, even her favorite color, except one thing; her current location. There was no death date on the file, so Waverly hoped the woman was still alive.

The agent opened another tab on her internet browser and began a search for Peggy Carter. She used SHIELD's search engine, which was about ten times as useful as Google, and soon narrowed her search to about a dozen Peggy Carters in the United States. Of course, Waverly thought, she may be back in England, but we can address that later.

Waverly clicked on the first hit and began weeding out potential Peggy candidates. She was so engrossed with her work, she didn't hear Steve mumbled something about going back to the gym. It wasn't until about half an hour later, after she had eliminated four of the Peggys, that Waverly noticed Steve was gone. Looking up, Waverly surmised the reason Steve left. Mythbusters had ended and the current show was a documentary about World War II. Of freakin' course. Waverly reached across the end table and snatched the remote from where Steve had left it in the chair. Pressing the 'info' button, Waverly began to read. The show was about Hitler and his vision for the world once it was under his power. From what Waverly know, Steve had never actually faced Hitler. But he had faced a greater threat; Red Skull. Red Skull, Waverly could never remember his real name, was one of Hitler's most trusted men before he formed the secret HYDRA organization. The show had mentioned Red Skull several times in the few short minutes Waverly had watched. _That's his name, Johann Schmidt. No wonder Steve had left._

After switching off both her laptop and the television, Waverly went in the kitchen to make herself lunch. While she prepared a sandwich, she was deep in thought. Steve really needed to find a better way to deal with his flashbacks and the other effects of post-traumatic stress. If Steve was to become a part of this world, if he was to be the founding member of the little club Fury had planned, he'd need to be able to deal with his problems quickly and efficiently. Steve couldn't just run off to the gym in the middle of acting as Captain America in battle.

So, Waverly thought. The nervous twitches, the feeling of guilt, the flashbacks; what could Steve do to combat those things? Well, first thing's first. Waverly needed to find out where Peggy was. She would take Steve to meet her once more. Maybe then some of Steve's unresolved feelings would be put at ease and he could relax more. Waverly took her sandwich to the couch and rebooted her computer. She was determined to find Peggy's location by the end of the night.

* * *

It was dinner time by the time Steve returned. He entered the apartment to find Waverly leaning against the counter, stirring a pot on the stove. The oven was also running and Steve smelled something baking. He dropped his gym bag near the door and slid his shoes off his feet. Waverly smiled at him when she saw him.

"Good, you're back," She said, switching off the stove. She took the pot of whatever was cooking and dumped it into a strainer balanced over the sink.

"What are you making?" Steve asked.

"Macaroni and cheese," Waverly answered. "It's not much, but I know I won't kill you if I make it. It's pretty straight forward. There're rolls in the oven too."

Steve watched Waverly drain the noodles of water and then dump them back into the pot. She set the pot on the still warm burner and added milk, butter, and some weird orange powder. Then she stirred. Steve washed his hands in the sink and by the time he was done, the noodles in the pot looked exactly like macaroni and cheese.

After insisting he sit down and relax, Waverly dished out two heaping bowls of macaroni. Then she slid the rolls from the oven and placed them in the middle of the table with a tub of butter.

"What do you want to drink?" She asked Steve from behind the refrigerator door.

"Milk is fine."

Having poured two glasses of milk, Waverly finally sat at the table and joined Steve for dinner. The captain couldn't help but noticed how red and swollen her cheek still was. Yet, the girl looked surprisingly upbeat.

Steve hungrily ate his dinner, but was Waverly engulfed her meal as if she had been starving for weeks. When she was finished, she set down her fork and looked at Steve with a wide smile on her face. Steve raised an eyebrow in confusion but before he could ask what was up, Waverly spoke.

"I hope you don't have plans tomorrow night," Waverly said.

Steve shook his head.

"Good. There's somebody I want you to meet." Waverly said cryptically.

"Your brother?" Steve questioned.

"No. He's rather busy right now. But I'm sure you'll enjoy the visit." Waverly gave another mischievous smile. Then she picked up her dirty dishes from the table and placed them in the dishwasher. As she walked out of the kitchen, she patted Steve's shoulder. "You get some sleep, big guy. You'll want to be rested for tomorrow."

Waverly then disappeared into her bedroom, leaving Steve all the more confused. He stared down into his bowl, stabbing orange noodles with his fork. What in the world was Waverly planning? The girl had been oddly quiet after the incident with her former boyfriend, but now she was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. What had the girl done while he was down at the gym?

* * *

Steve once again found himself in the passenger seat of Waverly's car. They had just finished a late lunch at the apartment and were now on their way to whatever it was that Waverly was being so secretive about. Though New York had changed greatly since Steve had last been in the city, he recognized that they were heading to Queens. Waverly drove with greater care this time, taking turns more easily and obeying the speed limit on the crowded streets. Their journey lasted about half an hour. They had left the big city and were cruising through a quiet neighborhood. Waverly pulled up to a large, bright white town house and parked the car.

"We're here." She said brightly. She hopped from the car and eagerly walked towards the sleek red door of the house.

Steve followed at a slower pace, asking, "Where exactly is 'here'?"

Waverly smiled at him over her shoulder but didn't answer. She knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

A few moments later, a woman, appearing to be in her early forties answered the door. She was a good five inches taller than Waverly, but short in stature compared to Steve. Her brown eyes glanced over the visitors. Though it was flecked with gray, her hair was still a deep shade of reddish-brown.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

Waverly held out her hand and the woman shook it. "I'm Waverly Barton. I called you last night."

Recognition flickered in the woman's eyes and she smiled. "Oh! Right. And this must be Steve." The woman offered her hand to Steve. The soldier shook it and nodded politely. The woman continued. "I'm Michelle. My mother was beside herself when I told her you were coming."

Steve looked from Michelle to Waverly, confusion painted all over his face. Michelle led them into her home while Waverly muttered a soft, "Just wait," to the super soldier.

Michelle led Steve and Waverly through her house, to a staircase. She explained how she lived with her husband, their teenage son, and her elderly mother. They had converted the attic into a suite for her mother. Steve followed the woman as she led them up to said suite. He kept glancing back at Waverly but all he got in return where mischievous smiles.

They reached the attic door and Michelle knocked softly. "Mother," she called, "he's here."

Steve heard a voice laden with age and a British accent answered back, telling Michelle to send him in. Michelle opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing Steve inside the room. The captain gave one last confused look at Waverly who simply urged him forward.

So Steve entered the room. Sitting in a rocking chair near the small attic window was an elderly woman wrapped in a blanket. Her hair was snow white and her face was etched with wrinkles; but still, Steve recognized her. He stopped a few paces short from the woman's chair. He felt his mouth drop open and knew his eyes must be the size of golf balls.

His heart was pounding against his rib cage and Steve feared that if he said the woman's name, she would vanish and be lost from him forever. He took another tentative step forward and took a breath before uttering her name. "Peggy?"

The woman had tears in her chocolate brown eyes. She nodded. "Yes, Steve. It's me."

Steve let out his breath and actually dropped to his knees. "Oh my God. I can't believe it's you."

Peggy let out a raspy laugh. "Oh Steve," she said, "You always were one for the dramatics." She rose shakily from her chair and crossed to Steve who stood and steadied her with one of his massive hands. He guided her to a cushy sofa near the room's other window.

"When they told me they had found you, I almost didn't believe it." Peggy said. "But, here you are. You don't look a day over twenty three."

"Peggy," Steve said softly. He brushed a stray strand of white hair from her face. "After all these years, you are still beautiful."

Peggy's cheeks tinged the slightest shade of pink. "Steve," she said with a playful eye roll. "You are far too kind. I know I am old. I am not the woman I once was."

Steve opened his mouth to object, but Peggy continued. "I know you loved me," she said, her voice quiet. "I loved you too. Part of me still loves you. But after the war, life had to move on. I never stopped hoping that you'd come back, but life goes on."

Steve nodded. "I'm sorry I broke our date." His blue eyes fell to the floor and, ever the shy one, he blushed.

"Steve," Peggy took one of Steve's hands in her shriveled old ones. "Don't blame yourself for anything that's happened. Life had to go on. You understand? It is so good to see you, to know you are alive. You're what this world needs, now more than ever." Peggy took a hand and gently turned Steve's face back to face hers. "You are a great man and a brilliant soldier. But, you and I, we are from different times now. You need to embrace your new role. I know you can do it, Steve. You've done it once before."

Steve nodded, placing one of his hands on Peggy's cheek as well. "I know." Still, Steve couldn't help the tears forming in his blue eyes.

Peggy leaned forward and gently kissed Steve on the opposite cheek, still caressing the other one. "You will always be my Captain America," she said. "I have my family now and you have a new one as well." Peggy looked over Steve's shoulder and nodded towards Waverly who was still out on the staircase with Michelle.

"It just means so much that I got to see you again," Steve said. "I've been trying to adjust. There's so much wrong in this new world that I want to fix."

Peggy nodded.

"I just, I had written you a letter. If I had known, I would have brought it." Steve looked down in disappointment. Behind him, he heard Waverly quietly enter the room. She fiddled around in her jacket pocket before producing the letter Steve had written to Peggy. She handed it to the solider and back quietly out of the room.

It didn't occur to Steve to question how Waverly got the letter or why she had it. He instead unfolded the paper and handed it to Peggy. The woman read each of the soldier's lines, tears gathering in the wrinkles around her eyes. When she was finished, she folded up the letter and placed it in the pocket of her thick, pink robe.

"Thank you, Steve," she said. "You were my partner too."

* * *

Back at the apartment, Steve and Waverly were eating pizza that they had picked up on the way home for dinner. Waverly was beside herself with giddiness. Steve had not stopped smiling since they left Peggy's daughter's house. At first, he showed some sadness, after all, Peggy was right there but he still couldn't be with her. But then, he seemed rejuvenated. He told Waverly story upon story on the ride back, telling her all about Peggy.

It wasn't until half way through dinner that Steve remembered Waverly handing him the letter. His brow furrowed and he abandoned his half eaten slice of pepperoni pizza on his paper plate.

"Waverly?" He ventured. "Where did you get that letter?"

Waverly's cheeks turned bright red and the hand mark from her ex-boyfriend stood out glaringly. She wouldn't meet Steve's eyes and stuttered a bit before answering. "The other night, when you had the nightmare and left to go to the gym… well you left your light on. I went to go shut it off and I noticed the letter. So, I sort of read it."

Steve felt his own cheeks redden in a mix of anger and embarrassment. That letter consisted of his private thoughts about Peggy. Waverly just waltzed into his room and read it without his permission. He rose from the table, no longer hungry. "What gave you the right to go through my personal belongings?" Steve was pacing the kitchen, glaring at Waverly.

The girl's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red and she dropped her head in shame. "Nothing did, but – "

"But nothing! Just because we're roommates doesn't mean you can go through my stuff!"

Now Waverly rose from her chair, anger creasing her forehead. "What was I supposed to do, Steve? I had to do something! I'm supposed to be here to help you and so far I feel like we've gotten nowhere. You have to learn to deal with your problems, not run to the gym whenever you're upset."

"And what does reading my letter have to do with that?"

"I needed something! I read that letter and knew that if Peggy was still alive, she could be able to help you. I had to do it, Steve. I can't let you keep festering inside these negative feelings. Fury thinks you're suicidal, for crying out loud."

Steve wasn't sure if it was just the anger talking or if, deep down, he really was suicidal, but he snapped at Waverly, "So what if I am? Everyone I knew is gone. Peggy's the only one left and she has her own family now. Who would really miss me if I was gone?"

Waverly huffed, put her hands on her hips, and met Steve's eye. "I would." She turned on her heel, stalked to her room, and slammed her door shut.

Steve sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He dropped back into his chair and picked up his now cold piece of pizza. He tore bites angrily from the slice, refusing to think about all that had happened today.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I know it's really short but I only had a little time to update. I decided to move the story along a little faster than I had originally planned so starting with this chapter, we'll be getting into the actual Avengers movie plot. Since I have an OC in this story, it'll vary a little from the real plot... also, I know on the bonus features, there's a deleted scene in which Steve finds Peggy's file and all that, we're just gonna pretend that didn't happen for this story, haha. Also, since I'll be quoting a lot of the movie from here on out, I want to reiterate, I OWN NOTHING ASIDE FROM WAVERLY! No copyright infringement is intended. I think that's it for now... I hope you enjoy. I'm not sure when I'll update again but it'll be following the movie from now on so hopefully updates can come a little faster.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Seven:

Waverly knew stalking into her room and slamming her door shut was childish, but sometimes the situation called for childishness. Besides, Steve was acting like a child, running from his problems. Waverly knew she was out of line, violating Steve's privacy like she had, but she really felt like she had had no choice. Though she had grown close to Steve, he hadn't really opened up to her. She needed to break down his wall in order to help him deal with his demons and find his place in the world.

After a good deal of pouting and being angry with both Steve and herself, Waverly swung her legs off her bed and made to leave her room. She would apologize to Steve and hopefully they could put this behind them.

Waverly walked into the living room to find in empty. Turning to face the attached kitchen, she found it empty as well. Waverly turned into the hall and walked the short distance to Steve's bedroom. The door was closed. She knocked gently. "Steve? Steve can we talk?"

Nothing. Steve had left. Probably gone to the gym. Waverly sighed. Well, her apology would have to wait until Steve returned. While she waited, Waverly cleaned up the remains of their pizza dinner and scrubbed down the kitchen.

She was just about to run the dishwasher when her phone rang from her bedroom. Waverly abandoned the appliance and jogged into her room. She picked up the phone just before it went to voicemail. A brief glance at the screen told her it was Fury calling.

"Agent Barton," Waverly said into the phone.

"Barton, where is Rogers?" Fury barked from the other end.

Waverly sighed. "I don't know. The gym maybe?"

"Captain Rogers isn't answering his phone. We need him to come in."

"Come in? Now? What for?" Waverly's mind was racing. Fury was trying to hold back his emotions, but Waverly could hear the slight desperation in his voice. Something was seriously wrong.

"We have a level seven."

Waverly's stomach dropped. "Um… with all due respect, Steve isn't anywhere near ready. He still has episodes."

"And you let him wander off alone?"

Waverly bit her tongue, preventing herself from snapping at her boss. She did, however, say, "Sir, I am not Steve's babysitter. I told you. He's probably at the gym."

Fury huffed. "All right then. I'll see to Rogers. Pack up, we need all hands on deck for this one."

Fury hung up before Waverly could respond. She pocketed her phone and shook herself. Something big was going on if she was being called in. The usual pre-mission began wriggling in Waverly's stomach.

* * *

Steve needed to let off some steam. After his argument with Waverly, he grabbed his gym back and headed down the now familiar path to the small gym down the street. He nodded at the manager as he walked in and then headed down into the basement, which was rarely used. The soldier hung a punching bag from a chain in the ceiling and then wrapped his hands.

At first, he was just venting off his frustrations with Waverly. But, as his work out continued, he laid into the punching bag even harder. With each punch, he fought back a vision of his past; Bucky's death, taking the plane down, Peggy's last words to him, waking up after his 70 year sleep.

Drenching in sweat, Steve punched the bag so forcefully, it ripped off the chain and slammed into the opposite wall. Before stringing up another bag, Steve glanced at the clock near the stairwell. He had been down here for hours. It was nearing ten o'clock. Steve brushed the sweat from his brow and took a breath. Just a little while longer, then he'd go back home.

Just as he was getting into the rhythm of knocking into the punching bag, a deep voice called to him from across the room. "Trouble sleeping?"

Steve sighed at stepped away from the bag. He turned to see Director Fury walking into the room. "I've been asleep for seventy years. I think I've had enough rest."

"Then you should be out; celebrating."

Steve began unwrapping his hands. "When I went under, the world was at war. I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost."

Director Fury walked further into the room, a manila folder in his hand. "We've made some mistakes along the way. Some, very recently."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Are you here with a mission, sir?"

"I am."

"Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve asked. He couldn't keep the irritation from his voice. He dropped down onto a bench and unwrapped his other hand. He put the tape back into his bag as Fury held out the folder to him.

"Trying to save it."

Steve opened the folder and glanced at the pieces of paper inside. The first had a picture of the Cube; Red Skull's source of power. "HYDRA's secret weapon?" He flipped through the other pages.

Fury nodded. "Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think. The Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs."

Steve held back a snort. He knew what was coming. Steve wasn't a scientists, he wasn't knowledgeable in the realm of technology. Fury didn't want his help unlocking the secrets of the Tesseract. Steve was a soldier. Someone had taken the Cube from SHIELD and Fury wanted Steve to get it back. "Who took it from you?" He asked, looking up at the director.

Fury sighed and took a step back as Steve rose from the bench, putting the folder under his arm. "He's called Loki. He's," Fury paused, "he's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. Agent Barton will help. The world had gotten even stranger than you already know."

Steve let out a dry chuckle. He swung his back over his shoulder and picked up a punching bag. "At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me." Steve turned away from the director and began making his way out of the gym.

"Ten bucks says you're wrong," Fury called after the soldier. "There'll be a debriefing packet waiting for you at your apartment. Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?"

Steve paused at the foot of the stairs. "You should have left it in the ocean."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Soooooo, I know it's been awhile but I've been busy and I have two other stories to update as well... this actually took a lot longer to write than I thought seeing as I had to rewatch a few scenes in the movie to make sure I got the lines right... since from here on we'll be basically following the movie plot, I'm only going to include scenes in which Steve is involved. Also, since my OC is also in this, we'll get some stuff from her POV... Finally, since I'm sure you've all seen the moive, I'm not going to include EVERYTHING since it's in the movie and this story is mostly just centered on Steve and his feelings about all of this, so, for example, the scene in which Steve meets Bruce isn't included in the chapter... I've babbled long enough. Thanks again for reviewing and everything. I hope you enjoy.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Eight:

When Steve got back to the apartment, Waverly was bustling around, gathering things together in a small suitcase that was placed on the couch. She was wearing her SHIELD uniform and was mumbling to herself about Fury. When she noticed Steve had returned, she blushed.

Waverly stopped her frantic packing and took a few paces towards Steve. "Steve, listen, I'm sorry."

Steve held up his hand to stop her. "Let's just forget it. I'm going to shower." Steve dumped his gym bag in the closet and then hurried into the bathroom for a quick shower. Once he was done, Waverly filled him in on what she knew. It wasn't much.

"It's a level seven, which essentially means we're at war." Waverly handed Steve a suitcase. "I don't know with who though. Korea, Afghanistan. Could be anyone really."

"It's Loki." Steve said, finally glad to know something Waverly didn't. He vanished into his room to pack a few things.

"Loki?" Waverly followed him into his room. "Who the hell is Loki?"

"No idea," Steve said. "Where is it we're going, exactly?"

"The helicarrier."

Now Steve was the one confused. "The what?"

Despite the nervousness in her stomach, Waverly smiled. "You'll see."

* * *

It hadn't taken Steve and Waverly long to get ready. They tossed their bags into the trunk of Waverly's car and then Waverly took off into the nightlife of New York. She took as many back roads as possible and even blew a few stop signs. Whatever this Loki was, it must be serious. Steve watched building by building flash by until the scenery changed to mostly open fields. A tower could be seen in the distance. They were heading for an airport. Waverly was driving one handed, her phone pressed to her ear.

"Got it." She said shortly. "We'll be there in like two seconds." Waverly hung up the phone and slipped it into a pocket of her jumpsuit. She steered the car towards a runway at the far end of the airport. Large, deadly looking jets were parked around the tarmac. The car pulled up to a gate and Waverly handed a security guard her badge. He slid it across some electronic device held in his hand and with an affirming buzz, the gates slid open. The guard had just managed to pull his hand away from Waverly, after handing her back her card, before she sped off. She parked the car near a small jet that looked like it was built for speed, rather than power.

Stairs had been wheeled to the jet, allowing Waverly and Steve access to the entrance. Standing at the top of the stairs was a man in a sharp, black suit. He had a clean haircut and although it was the middle of the night, he wore sunglasses.

Waverly jumped quickly out of the car and tossed her keys to another man in a suit. While Steve got the bags out of the trunk, the man got into the car, preparing to take it to a secure garage. Waverly began climbing up the stairs. Steve followed. The last few hours had been a whirl of activity and Steve wasn't quite sure what was going on. It felt good though, to be thrust back into action. It was like he was back in the military; it was strangely comforting.

At the top of the stairs, Waverly nodded at the man in the sunglasses. "Agent Coulson."

"Waverly." Coulson nodded back. Then his eyes fell on Steve. The agent took off his sunglasses to get a better look at Steve. "Agent Phil Coulson." He held out his hand. "Captain Rogers, it's an honor."

Steve set one of the bags down and shook Coulson's hand.

"Are we ready for takeoff?" Waverly asked.

Agent Coulson turned back to her. "Not quite. We're waiting for the go ahead from Director Fury." Coulson nodded towards the inside of the jet. "Let's go in and get settled. I'll fill you in."

Waverly disappeared into the mouth of the jet. Steve picked up the bag once more and followed her. The jet was small; Steve could barely stand straight up. Two pilots were seated in the cockpit, strapped in with helmets obscuring their faces. Waverly motioned to Steve and pointed out where to put the bags. Then, they took to their seats. Once the young agent and the super soldier were strapped in, Coulson shut the jet's hatch and took a seat across from them.

"So what's going on?" Waverly asked the moment Coulson's rear end hit his seat.

"You know SHIELD's top secret project, the one regarding the Tesseract?" Coulson began. Waverly nodded. "It was activated last night. A portal opened and a hostile force came through. He calls himself Loki."

"Where did he come from?" Waverly asked.

"Asgard."

Steve was surprised to see Waverly's eyebrows rise. Clearly, Waverly was familiar with whatever 'Asgard' was. Steve on the other hand was completely lost. "Asgard?" he echoed.

Coulson nodded. "It's another realm."

"Another what?"

Waverly turned to Steve. "I can explain it to you later." Turning back to Coulson, Waverly went on. "Thor's brother?"

"Yes. He took the Tesseract, along with some of our own. He plans to start a war." Coulson took his smartphone from his pocket and handed it to Waverly. On the screen was a picture of Loki.

Waverly couldn't help but shiver. The man was tall and thin. His eyes seemed to burn right through the screen into Waverly's skin. He had the hungered look in his eyes of a madman. Steve leaned over to look as well. His eyes widened. This Loki character was armed with a deadly looking spear. Still, it was a spear; how dangerous could it be against the guns and bombs of today's military. But, if this guy had the Tesseract, he could be just as dangerous as Red Skull.

Waverly handed the phone back to Coulson. "Who did he take?"

Steve knew Coulson was a professional. He was a SHIELD agent, a spy, a trained negotiator. Still, the captain saw Coulson's unintended nervous twitch. "Selvig," Coulson finally answered. The agent then listed off a few other names. Finally, he looked Waverly in the eye. His voice was low and Steve could hear a hint of concern when Coulson spoke. "And Clint."

Steve raised his eyebrows. He turned quickly to see Waverly's look of shock. Her mouth was open, her eyes were wide. She looked pale, and as if she might throw up. As fast as it had come, the shock vanished, but was replaced with a look of horror. Steve felt Waverly tense up beside him. Without quite knowing why, the captain placed a hand on Waverly's thigh. She relaxed ever so slightly, but when she spoke, her voice faltered.

"But, he's alive?"

"We think so. Loki did something to him. Some kind of mind control."

Waverly shifted nervously in her seat. Though Coulson continued to explain their situation, she looked distracted. And why shouldn't she be? He brother had been taken captive or brainwashed or something. Steve lightly shook himself. He realized he was just as distracted as Waverly. Why was he so concerned with how she was feeling? Steve turned back to Coulson and listened to the agent's recount of Loki's attack.

* * *

Light was just beginning to spill over the horizon when Colson finally received the go ahead for takeoff. He leaned into the cockpit and the pilots brought the jet to life. With a small jolt, they were off in the air, speeding towards the helicarrier. Waverly hadn't spoken since Coulson mentioned her brother. Steve broke the awkward silence by asking who else was being called it for this mission.

Coulson handed him something that looked like a computer screen. On the screen, Steve recognized the figure of the Hulk. A newsreel played, showing the Hulk destroying buildings, cars, pretty much anything.

"Dr. Bruce Banner is being called in to trace the Tesseract." Coulson said. He jerked his head towards the screen in Steve's hand. Turning away from Steve, Coulson put on a headset, no doubt to radio back to base.

Of course, Steve already knew about Banner from Waverly, but he watched the film anyway. When Coulson turned back to him, just for the sake of conversation, he said, "So this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?"

Coulson nodded. "A lot of people were. You were the world's first super hero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula."

"Didn't really go his way, did it."

"Not so much. When he's not that thing though the guy's like a Stephen Hawking." Steve looked up, confused. Coulson tilted his head back in forth in though. "He's… like a smart person," he said quickly. Then, sensing Steve was feeling out of the loop, Coulson continued. "I gotta say it's an honor to meet you, officially. I sort of met you. I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping." Coulson stammered, a little embarrassed. Steve set the computer screen down and rose from his chair, looking out the windshield of the jet. Coulson joined him. "I mean, I was… I was present while you were unconscious… from the ice. You know, you know it's just a… it's just huge honor to have you on board."

"Well, I hope I'm the man for the job." Steve said, a tad nervous. A man, seventy years out of time, how was he supposed to help stop this Loki character?

"Oh, you are," Coulson said. His voice was eager, but filled with reassurance. "Absolutely." Coulson seemed to be getting embarrassed again. After a brief pause, he switched topics. "Uh, we made some modifications to the uniform." Proudly, the agent added, "I had a little design input."

Steve raised an eyebrow and looked at Agent Coulson. "The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little… old fashioned?" That was one thing that concerned Steve. Ever since he had awakened, Steve noticed the national pride, the American spirit that had been abundant in the 1940's seemed lacking in today's world. A lot of people claimed to dislike America, many of them being her own citizens. Steve wasn't quite sure how he felt, jumping into battle with red, white, and blue plastered all over his body. He had no problem with America, be he wasn't quite sure how well received his presence would be.

"Everything that's happening," Coulson said with a sigh. He looked Steve in the eye. "The things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old fashioned."

Steve nodded in understanding and Coulson sat back down in his seat. He pulled out his phone and immersed himself if SHIELD data files. Steve watched the agent for a while, expertly tapping away at the touch screen. After a while, Steve sat back down next to Waverly. "Are you all right?" He asked in a low voice, conscious that Coulson could hear their every word.

Waverly sighed and looked up at Steve. Her eyes were dark and made her look older than she was. She shook her head slightly. "He's the only one I have," she said quietly.

Steve understood her feeling. When his parents died, Bucky was really the only solid figure in Steve's life. He knew what it was like to have the one person you could count on, your rock, torn away from you. He knew what it was like to be lonely. "Well, you've got me now too, ya know?"

Waverly's lips titled up ever so slightly. "Okay, Steve."

* * *

Coulson informed Steve and Waverly that they were approaching base. Waverly, having finally pulled herself together, undid her seat restraint and stood up, stretching. Steve followed suit. He went to grab the bags from the overhead storage, when Coulson stopped him.

"We'll have someone take care of that for you." Coulson turned towards the jet's hatch as the aircraft began to slow, descending on top of what looked like an aircraft carrier. Steve had never been on one, but he knew what they looked like. The familiar military scenery reassured him. Coulson was still speaking, so Steve turned back to look at the agent. "When we land, Agent Romanoff will instruct you where to go."

Waverly nodded.

"Who's Agent Romanoff," Steve whispered to the young agent.

"She's my brother's partner. You've probably heard of her. The Black Widow?"

Comprehension dawned on Steve's face. He nodded. He had indeed heard of the Black Widow. She was a super spy, an assassin, a negotiator; pretty much a jack of all military trades.

The jet touched down with a small thud. Coulson opened the hatch and stepped out. Waverly and Steve followed. Standing on the massive ship's deck was a woman, tall and thin with short red hair. No doubt she was Black Widow.

Coulson indicated the woman. "Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers."

"Ma'am," Steve said politely, inclining his head towards the woman.

"Hi," she answered. Agent Romanoff then shared a look with Waverly. Both women nodded.

Romanoff then turned to Coulson, instructing him to go to the bridge. Looking back at Steve, she said, "It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was going to swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

"Trading cards?" Steve asked, confused yet again.

"They're vintage," Roman off added. "He's very proud."

Steve then noticed Dr. Banner awkwardly standing off to the side, watching as SHIELD agents marched by. Steve immediately went over to meet the man. Waverly, however, hung back with Romanoff.

"Natasha," she said quietly. "What… what's the word on Clint?"

Natasha and Waverly looked at each other. Though the former kept her emotions carefully concealed, Waverly could tell she was worried about Clint. "We're looking for him. We don't know where he went after Loki… after Loki did whatever he did to him."

"But, he's okay?"

Natasha nodded but a shadow crossed her face. "Waverly, if he…" She stopped and took a breath. "He's been turned."

"I know," Waverly said. "SHIELD is top priority. But, is there… is there a way to get him back?"

Natasha turned away from Waverly. "I don't know." With that, the assassin strode over to Steve and Dr. Banner, advising them to go inside.

* * *

While walking to the bridge, Waverly quietly explained to Steve that they were aboard the helicarrier. Steve's head swam with the overwhelming about of information Waverly laid on him. The helicarrier was SHIELD's flying base. It had its own laboratories, power plant, weapons, a kitchen, and rooms for all the agents. It could even be masked so that it appeared invisible. The thing was massive, probably twenty times larger than the airship Red Skull had built. Steve was in shock to say the least.

Natasha led them to the bridge. It was a huge room, filled with at least two dozen agents stationed at computer screens. In the center, a small raised platform looked out over the agents below. A thin woman was perched on it, issuing commands. Fury was also present, looking out the gigantic windshield of the helicarrier.

Steve would have sworn in astonishment, but he knew that wasn't appropriate. Instead, he slipped a ten from his wallet. Fury turned towards them at that exact moment and addressed them. "Gentlemen," he said with a nod.

Steve, mouth slightly agape, slipped Fury the bill. With a small smirk, the director took it and pocketed it before turning to the doctor.

Standing at a railing, Steve looked over the scene before him. Waverly stood by his side. "This…" he said, heaving an astonished sigh, "this is something else."

Waverly sigh as well. "I probably should have told you about this sooner seeing as Fury would like you to be a member of SHILED."

"I probably wouldn't have believed you," Steve responded. "Having a hard time to believe it as it is. Are you sure I'm not still asleep in the ice?"

Waverly laughed, bringing a smile to Steve's face. "No, Steve. You are very much awake." Waverly turned away from the captain and located Agent Romanoff. The spy's eyes were glues to a computer screen displaying a picture of a man. Waverly face dropped once more into a look of concern. "I'll be right back."

Steve figured the man on the screen was Clint. Waverly and Agent Romanoff seemed to be pretty concerned with him. Steve had to wonder if there was something other than just a partnership between Romanoff and Clint.

Steve didn't get to stir in thought for long. Coulson joined him at the railing. "I, uh, I have a set of super hero trading cards."

Steve nodded.

"Including you." Coulson tried to keep his voice casual, but Steve could tell he was like an excited child meeting his favorite celebrity. "If, um, if you could sign them, I'd really appreciate it. I mean, if it's not too much trouble."

Steve shook his head. "No, no, it's fine." But, to be honest, it was a little awkward.

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all. You're mint," Coulson finished proudly.

Steve was saved from having to respond by an agent calling out from his station. Apparently, he had located Loki.

Director Fury took in the information then turned to Steve. "Captain, you're up."


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: UPDATE! WOOO! Sorry it took so long but I was super busy with school. I'm on break now so hopefully I can update a few times. Thanks again for all the reviews and favorites. For those of you also reading Fire and Ice, I will update that story next, so stay tuned. As for this story... I'm gonna try to follow the movie as well as I can but I might not get all the quotes right (I watched the Stuttgart scene like 20 times and still didn't get it perfect, ha!) Umm... I think that's it. I hope you enjoy!**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Nine:

It had been a long time since Steve had been in the midst of a battle. The only thing he had fought in nearly seventy years was his punching bag… well, he did have that incident with Waverly's ex-boyfriend but that hardly constituted a battle. Steve was actually a little nervous. He barely knew who this Loki person was or what he was capable of.

Waverly had escorted Steve to his room on the Helicarrier. She had left him to get ready. Lying on Steve's bed was his new uniform. It was reminiscent of the one he wore during the war but Steve couldn't help but crinkle up his nose at the sight of it. It was much less military uniform looking and instead looked more like a spangly outfit for a comic book superhero. Sitting next to the uniform was his shield. It had been polished and repainted and all the little dings and dents repaired. At least his shield hadn't changed. That little circle of metal had saved his life countless times. Steve was glad to have it back; it provided some comfort and familiarity in this strange new world. Steve quickly suited up and strapped his shield to his arm. He met Waverly back in the hall way.

"Natasha will fly you to Stuttgart. Once you get there, she'll drop you at Loki's location."

Steve nodded. He was following Waverly as they walked briskly through the halls of the helicarrier. "What's the plan once I confront him?"

"Fury obviously wants to interrogate him. We need to find the Tesseract. Your goal is capture; don't kill."

Steve let out a laugh. "Gotcha. Didn't plan on it anyway."

"Right." Waverly stopped at a thick steel door that led to the runway. "This is your stop. Natasha is waiting in the jet."

Steve took a breath to calm himself. He shook his arms and legs, loosening his muscles. In an instant he was back in the mindset of a soldier. This was his element; this was what he was good at. "Anything else, Waverly?"

Waverly shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She looked nervous. "Just… just be careful. Okay, Steve?"

Steve gave her a smile. "Will do."

"Good luck." With that, Waverly pressed a button on the door's frame. With a warning buzz, the thick sheet of steel revolved open, giving Steve access to the runway. The wind whipped roared, carrying with it the sound of jet engines. Steve jogged towards the jet that was preparing for takeoff. Just before entering the jet, Steve turned and gave Waverly a salute as she shut the door.

* * *

Back on the bridge, Fury was tracking the jet's progress on one of the computer monitors with Agent Hill and Waverly flanking his sides. In stark contrast to the SHIELD director and trained agent, Waverly was having trouble sitting still. She drummed her fingers on the railing beside her and tapped her foot nervously.

"Is there a problem, Agent Barton?" Fury asked, not taking his eye off the screen.

"No sir. Just…" Waverly paused. "Nothing."

Fury turned to face his secretary. The super spy was trained to read human emotions like a child's story book. Clearly, Waverly was nervous; more so than she had been upon arriving at the helicarrier. "You wouldn't be worried about Captain Rogers, would you?"

Waverly had learned to control her emotions around her boss but she couldn't prevent the small shade of pink that crawled up her cheeks and Fury's accusation. "What? No. He's Captain America. He'll be fine."

Fury wasn't convinced. "Of course. Just remember; he is your assignment. I expect you to act professionally."

* * *

The jet flew through the air with remarkable speed. The helicarrier was floating somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean so making it to Germany before Loki disappeared again was crucial. Natasha piloted the jet as if flying was her sixth sense. Steve stood near the rear of the jet where he would drop from upon reaching their location. Night had fallen across Europe and the closer they got to Stuttgart, the darker the sky became.

"We're reaching the drop zone, Captain," Natasha called from the cockpit. With ease, she guided the jet down towards the ground, giving Steve a safe height to jump from. He would not be parachuting today; the slow descent could give Loki an advantage. As the jet descended, Natasha flipped on a cloaking device, similar to the one that shielded the helicarrier. She then flipped a switch and the hatch at the rear of the jet opened. Steve felt the wind hit him like a ton of bricks and he gripped his shield tighter. Looking down below him, he saw what appeared to be a museum. Hundreds of people were fleeing the building, screaming in terror. Over the rush of air in his ears, the captain heard police sirens rushing to the scene. Then, everything stopped. The people knelt down, their fear frozen in their throats. Steve followed their wide-eyed gazes and saw Loki standing before them, addressing them and brandishing his spear about. He was dressed in the most ridiculous looking armor, but Steve knew not to judge a book by his cover. This guy was dangerous.

In the middle of whatever crazed speech Loki was giving, an elderly man near the back of the crowd stood up. Steve watched Loki aim his spear right at the man's chest. Now was the time. With a running leap, Steve jumped from the jet and landed inches in front of the older gentleman. Covering them both with his shield, Steve felt the blast of Loki's spear ricochet off to bounce back and hit Loki.

Steve lowered his shield and stood up. Loki had fallen to the ground. Steve began towards him. "You know, last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

Loki gave a chuckle and pulled himself back to his feet. "The soldier," he snarled, "the man out of time."

"I'm not the one who's out of time," Steve shot back.

At that moment, Natasha swooped back in and disengaged the jet's shielding device. She armed the jet and came over the P.A. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."

Loki shot a blast of whatever energy his spear contained at the jet. While Natasha swerved to avoid the hit, Steve threw his shield at Loki. The shield bounced off Loki's chest plate and Steve caught it. Running forward, Steve aimed a punch at his opponent's face. Around them, the stunned silence had been broken. People were screaming and running in every direction. Steve focused on Loki. Loki countered with his spear, and Steve blocked with his shield, but was thrown backwards. He threw his shield but Loki knocked it away. _All right,_ Steve thought,_ hand to hand then._ The captain jumped back up to his feet and ran at Loki. Loki spun and hit Steve square in the back with his spear. Steve flew forward and landed with a painful thud on the ground.

Loki strode over to him and held the captain down with the butt of his spear. "Kneel."

"Not today." Steve knocked the spear away and sprang to his feet. With a spinning kick, he engaged Loki once more.

Loki retaliated by throwing Steve away once more. Upon hitting the ground, Steve heard some weird music come over Natasha's P.A. He looked up into the sky, confused. _What in the hell?_

Standing a few feet away from him, Loki was looking equally as confused. Then, like a missile, an armored man flew through the air at fired at Loki. _Tony Stark,_ Steve realized. _Shoulda known_. Cornering Loki, Steve heard Stark order him to make a move. Steve climbed back to his feet, retrieved his shield and joined Stark. Like magic, Loki's armor faded away and he held up his hands in surrender.

"Good move," Stark responded.

Steve nodded at the armored genius. "Mr. Stark."

"Captain."

"Thanks for the help." Steve stepped forward and grabbed Loki by the forearm. Stark followed, grabbing Loki's other arm. Together, they escorted their prisoner into the jet and strapped him into a seat. He was oddly compliant and didn't say a word. It was strange and all too easy.

Natasha ascended into the air and sped quickly back toward the helicarrier. Steve took off his mask and wiped the sweat from his face. Beside him, with a mechanical whirring, Stark lowered his face plate. He took off his helmet and set it down.

Steve met his eye. "I don't like it," he said in a low voice.

"What? Rock of ages giving up so easily?" Stark asked.

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop." Steve rubbed his stomach which was throbbing after taking so many hits to the pavement.

Stark shrugged. "Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?"

Steve was thoroughly confused. "What?" He asked.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, ya know, doing time as a 'capsicle'."

Steve repressed an irritated sigh. He had known Tony Stark for all of a few short minutes and already he was irritated with the arrogant billionaire. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"There's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you," Tony said, cocking an eyebrow.

Suddenly, the jet flew into the midst of an intense lightning storm. The jet rocked back and forth in the turbulence. Glancing back at their prisoner, Steve saw he looked vastly uncomfortable. His eyes were wide and he was gazing up at the ceiling with a look a dread.

"What's wrong?" Steve said sarcastically. "Scared of a little lightning."

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki replied.

Something hit the roof of the jet with a deafening thud. The jet rocked from the impact. Simultaneously, both Steve and Tony reached for their face coverings. Tony opened the hatch to confront whatever new threat had appeared.

Just then, someone came swooping in through the jet's back hatch. He was a towering man with bulging muscles. After tossing Tony to the side, he ripped Loki from his seat and jumped from the jet before anyone could make a move.

Tony got back to his feet. "Now there's that guy." Walking towards the back of the jet, Iron Man made to take off.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha called from the cockpit.

"Doesn't matter," Tony answered. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."

"Stark," Steve called after him. "We need a plan of attack."

Tony paused and turned back towards Steve. "I have a plan. Attack." With that, he jumped off into the night sky.

Steve reached for a parachute strapped down with the jet's cargo.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha advised.

Steve slipped the parachute over his shoulders and tightened the straps around his waist. "I don't see how I can."

"These guys come from legends. They're basically gods."

Steve took a few steps towards the jet's hatch. "There's only one god, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." Without giving it another thought, Steve fastened his shield to his arm and jumped from the jet.

Using his shield to guide his fall, Steve directed himself towards a thick, dark forest below. When he reached the appropriate altitude, he released his chute and glided to the ground. Once his feet hit, he slid the parachute off his back and took off at a run. He could see not too far off, the blasts from Iron Man's weapons and hear the thud of the Asgardian's weapon. When he reached them, they were in the middle of fighting.

"Hey! That's enough!" Steve threw his shield at the two, breaking up the fight.

The newcomer turned to glare at Steve. "I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes."

"Then prove it." Steve said, approaching him. "Put the hammer down."

"Yeah, uh, no," Tony piped up. "Bad call. He loves his hammer."

"You want me to put the hammer down?" The man's voice was deep and threatening and he had a strange accent that Steve couldn't place. He knocked Stark aside and jumped at Steve.

Steve threw up his shield. The two indestructible metals hit each other with enough force to rip up the surrounding trees. Steve was thrown backwards, as was his new opponent. They both landed with resounding thuds. As everyone was climbing back to their feet, Steve said, "Are we done here?"

Regretfully, the strange man fastened his hammer to his belt and stood calmly. "I have come to take Loki home."

"We got that," Steve said. "But he has a lot to answer for first. Who are you?"

"I am Thor Odinson, of Asgard."

The name sounded familiar. Hadn't Waverly said something about someone named Thor? He had some connection to Loki. "Right. Come with us, Thor. We're on the same side here."

Thor let out an angry sigh, but nodded. The three new allies retrieved their prisoner and boarded the jet once more.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Sooo this took FOREVER to write. This part of the movie is a lot of talking and not very action-y. I have something awesome planned for next chapter and I hope to update very soon because I'm excited to see the response. Next chapter will be more Waverly, less Steve, so even though it's one of the best parts of the movie in my opinion, we won't see the argument in the lab. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Ten:

Once Loki was secured once more, Natasha and her co-pilot sped the jet back to the helicarrier. Steve, Tony, and their new ally stood in the back.

"So," Steve said, struggling to wrap his brain around everything that had happened in the past few hours. "You're his brother?"

Thor nodded. Strapped in his chair, Loki snorted with disgust.

In a lower voice, Steve continued. "What's he up to?"

Thor didn't answer right away. He looked troubled. "I will wait to discuss this matter until we arrive back at your base."

* * *

It was in the very wee hours of the morning when Steve and crew arrived back at the helicarrier. A troop of SHIELD agents, armed to the teeth, were waiting for them on the landing strip. Steve and Thor unstrapped Loki from his temporary prison while Tony bound his wrists and ankles. Then the three of them turned Loki over to the agents and followed Natasha back inside.

Waverly was waiting for them at the bridge. Steve couldn't help but notice the relief that washed over Waverly's face when she saw him enter the room.

"How was it?" She asked.

Steve shrugged as if it was nothing, but winced immediately after. He rubbed his middle again. "I'm a bit out of shape. We got him though."

Waverly nodded but said nothing else. Over her earpiece, she heard Fury instructing her to turn on the video screens at the debriefing table. "Come on. Fury wants us to hear this." She nodded to the group and led them to the table waiting for them. On the video screens set in the glass table top, security camera footage showed Fury standing before Loki's cell. Fury was speaking. In silence, the group watched.

"In case it's unclear, you try to escape, you so much as scratch that glass; thirty thousand feet straight down in a steel trap. Ant. Boot."

On screen, Loki snickered. "It's an impressive cage. Not built I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh I've heard. The mindless beast. Makes claim he's still a man." At Loki's words, Waverly couldn't help but glance up nervously at Dr. Banner. She saw Natasha do the same. But Loki went on. Both women turned their attention back to the video screens. "How desperate are you? You call on such lost creatures to defend you."

"How desperate am I?" Waverly had never known her boss to be an emotional man, but in that question, she heard how desperate he really was. Loki was dangerous and even though they had him captured, the Tesseract was still out there. And so was her brother; working for the villain. Waverly lost focus. She heard Fury and Loki's exchange without really listening. That sick feeling crawled back into her stomach again as she thought about what would happen if they couldn't get Clint back on their side. Subconsciously, she slid her seat a little closer to Steve's. Being near him made her feel better. Before she could fully process that thought, she snapped her attention back to the current situation. Fury had walked off camera, no doubt on his way to their location.

Dr. Banner let out a sarcastic huff of laughter. "He really grows on you, doesn't he?"

"Loki's going to drag this out." Steve confirmed everyone's thoughts on the matter. Once again, the super soldier turned to Thor. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

Thor had his back turned to the rest of the room. At the question he turned back to face them. Obviously he was pained. "He has an army called the Chituari. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth in return, I suspect for the Tesseract."

"An army? From outer space?" Steve's eyebrows vanished up his forehead. He glanced over at Waverly who winced. Part of her job was to bring Steve up to speed on the whole 'other realms' thing. She hadn't exactly gotten to that part before Fury called them in.

"Yeah, I'll explain later," she whispered.

"So," Dr. Banner took up the conversation, "He's building another portal, that's what he needs Eric Selvig for."

"Selvig?" A look of concern flashed across Thor's face.

No on in the room noticed. Waverly rolled her eyes. Leave it to a bunch of scientists and soldiers to not be able to read people's emotions. Then again, Waverly was the only one in the room who knew of Thor's tie to the astrophysicist.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha explained. In a lower voice she added, "Along with one of ours." The two women exchanged glances. Natasha concealed her emotions well, but Waverly heard the worry in the spy's voice.

Waverly knew that whatever Natasha was feeling on the inside, she was presenting it on the outside. That gnawing fear overtook her stomach again and she gripped the edge of the table so hard, her knuckles turned white.

Steve felt Waverly tense up beside him. No wonder she wasn't a true SHEILD agent. She obviously didn't handle stress well. She was barely holding herself together. Under the table, Steve slid a hand over and rested it on Waverly's knee. He felt her relax ever so slightly and lean back into her seat. Looking at the rest of the group, Steve said, "I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki," suggested Dr. Banner. "That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him."

Waverly had to hold back a snort of laughter, despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason but he is of Asgard and he is my brother."

Natasha glanced over at Thor quizzically. "He killed eighty people in two days."

Thor blinked. "He's adopted."

Again, Waverly had to hold back a snort of laughter. "That explains so much," she muttered.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium. What do they need the iridium for?" Dr. Banner had gotten back on the subject of science. Waverly counted down the seconds until her brain lost focus again. She was most definitely not a scientist.

"Stabilizing agent." A new voice said. Waverly and Steve craned their necks around to watch Tony Stark enter the room. Agent Coulson was with him. Tony muttered something to the agent before strutting into the room. "It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD." Tony walked over to Thor and patted him on the arm. "No hard feelings, point break. You got a mean swing."

Thor raised an eyebrow. The look on his face suggested he had just been touched by something very foul. Both Waverly and Steve rolled their eyes. With Tony here, who had the maturity of a twelve year old, this conversation wasn't going to get very far.

Tony walked further into the room and stood at the control panel where Agent Hill was standing. "Also," he continued, "it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." Turning to face the bridge, Tony began issuing commands like he was in charge. "That man is playing Galaga. Thought we wouldn't notice, but we did.

This elicited another eye roll from Waverly. She had complied Tony's file along with Natasha for Fury. Neither of the women thought Tony would be an ideal candidate for the Avengers, but alas, here he was.

Steve shot Waverly another confused glance.

"Video game," she whispered.

Steve nodded though he still looked confused.

Tony went back to explaining Loki's supposed plan to the rest of the group. It all sound technical to Waverly who had trouble paying attention. "The only major component Loki needs, is a power source."

More science talk. Waverly noticed Steve was struggling to keep on track as well. Obviously, the super soldier wasn't a scientist either. "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked.

Dr. Banner and Tony then had an exchange. To Waverly, it sounded like they were speaking in a foreign language. Tony finished their conversation by saying, "Finally, someone who speaks English."

Steve looked over at Waverly. "Is that what just happened?"

Waverly laughed. "If that's English, I'm the queen of Russia."

Tony and Dr. Banner shared some more science talk. Then, the billionaire commented Dr. Banner on his ability to turn into an 'enormous green rage monster.' Natasha rolled her eyes and Waverly opened her mouth to politely tell Tony to shut it when Fury finally entered the room. "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him.

"I'd start with that stick of his," Steve offered. Waverly couldn't help but be surprised. Maybe Steve did now more about science than she thought. Then it hit Waverly. Duh. Steve had fought Red Skull whose sole source of power _was _the Tesseract. Steve was more valuable to this mission than Waverly realized. He wasn't just a soldier. "It might be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYRDA weapon."

"I don't know about that," Fury admitted, "but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

Waverly saw a shred of hope. Fury was obviously concerned with retrieving Clint and Selvig, not just the cube.

"Monkeys?" Now Thor sounded confused. "I do not understand."

"I do!" Steve looked overjoyed to finally understand something; he had a proud smile on his face. When the room all looked at him awkwardly, his cheeks turned ever so slightly pink. "I, uh, I understood that reference."

Waverly giggled. She was glad Steve was with them. It made the whole situation of her brother being one of the bad guys not seem so terrifying.

After that, the meeting was over. Tony and Dr. Banner went up to the lab to begin the trace on the cube. Waverly wanted to have some time to talk to Steve, but Coulson swooped in and intercepted him. Fury was consulting with Thor and Agent Hill turned her attention back to the control panel. That left Waverly with Natasha. The spy stood, locked eyes with Waverly, and nodded towards the door. Waverly followed Natasha out into the hall.

"We're looking for Clint," Natasha said, her voice devoid of emotion. "We'll find him."

Waverly nodded. "And when we do?"

Natasha took a breath before answering it. "I'll handle it." Natasha turned and left Waverly alone in the hall. Waverly didn't know whether to be reassured or even more nervous. She went to duck back into the room, passing Steve in the doorway.

Aware that Fury was in earshot, Waverly chose her words carefully. "Captain, I was wondering if you needed any, um, clarification on anything."

The soldier completely missed the hint. "I actually want to discuss some things with Stark. I'll be back later."

* * *

Steve made his way up to the lab where Tony and Dr. Banner were working. It wasn't hard to find. Before he even entered the room, he heard Tony's arrogant drawl as he poked Dr. Banner with some kind of pointed instrument. The doctor winced, exclaimed "ow," but other than that, nothing spectacular happened. Still, Steve rushed into the room and confronted Tony. "Hey! Are you nuts?"

"Jury's out."

Steve suppressed the urge to grab Stark by the neck and whip him into shape. The longer he was around the billionaire, the more he began to get irritated with his presence. Stark was arrogant, cocky, and sarcastic. With him around, Steve doubted they'd get anything done; did the guy ever take anything seriously? Plus, Steve wasn't used to someone undermining everything he had to say. He was a captain; he was used to given orders and having them followed. "Is everything a joke to you?" he snapped.

"Funny things are."

Steve struggled to remain calm. "Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offence, doc."

"It's all right," Banner replied. "I wouldn't've come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

"You're tip-toein' big man. You need to strut." Tony popped a blueberry in his mouth as if this was a normal conversation to be having.

_No,_ Steve thought, _we are definitely not normal. _"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark."

"You think I'm not?" Tony's tone was condescending, with only irritated Steve further. "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

Steve sighed. In his head, Tony's words from earlier swirled around. _There's a lot Fury doesn't tell you. _"You think Fury's hiding something?"

"He's a spy. Captain, he's _the_ spy. His secrets have secrets." Tony turned to Dr. Banner. "It's buggin' him too, isn't it?"

Dr. Banner looked up from Loki's spear. "Uhhh, I just wanna finish my work here and –"

Obviously, Banner was thinking along the same lines as Stark but he didn't want to admit it. "Doctor?" Steve pressed.

Dr. Banner heaved a sigh but went on. "A warm light for all mankind. Loki's jab at fury about the cube."

"I heard it."

"Well, I think that was meant for you." Dr. Banner turned to face Tony. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

Steve looked from Dr. Banner to Stark. "The Stark Tower? That big ugly," Tony shot him a look, "building in New York?"

Banner nodded. "It's powered by an arc reactor. Self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?"

"That's just the prototype," Tony said with all his proud arrogance. "I'm kinda the only name in clean energy right now, that's what he's getting at."

"So, why didn't SHEILD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

Steve had to admit, what the two geniuses were saying made sense. Still, Steve was a military man. He followed orders, he didn't question them. He had to trust Fury's judgment; he was their leader in all of this. If Stark and Banner felt antsy, then they needed to get over it and focus on the task at hand.

Tony looked thoughtful, but he wasn't about to drop his suspicious of Fury. "I should probably look into that. Once my encryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

Steve's eyes widened. He understood enough about technology to know that Stark was, what was it called, hacking? Stark was hacking into SHIELD's computers. "I'm sorry, did you say –"

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tied to hide." Tony walked around the work bench and held out his bag of fruit to the soldier. "Blueberry?"

Steve brushed Tony's hand away. "Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around."

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome."

Steve looked from Stark to Banner. Before he spoke again, he looked pointedly at the former. "I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them."

"Following's not really my style."

At that point, Steve had lost all patience with Tony. He took a step closer to the man so that they were just inches apart. "And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked in a low voice.

"Of the people in this room, which one is A: wearing a spangle-y outfit and B: not of use?"

Steve clenched his jaw. With every word that came out of Stark's mouth, Steve was liking him less and less. He looked the billionaire up and down. Without his suit, he was significantly smaller than Steve. Sure, he was still in good shape and could put up a fight, but Steve was a super soldier. He could easily pick Stark up and hurl him across the sip.

In a more gentle voice, Dr. Banner added, "Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you."

Steve looked from one to the other. "Just find the cube." With that, he left the lab. Out in the hall, he paused before making up his mind. As irritating as Stark may be, he and Banner had a point. Something wasn't adding up. Steve was going to find out what was up. He turned away from the hall that led to his room and instead descended into the belly of the helicarrier.

It took him awhile, but he soon found SHEILD's top secret storage. It seemed odd to Steve that no one was down here guarding it, but he didn't question his luck. It was easy for Steve to wedge to door from its track and enter the dark room.

Spread out before the soldier were boxes, crates, and metal cases of all shapes and sizes. Steve took a tentative step into the room. He looked around and once he was sure he was the only on there, he walked to a stack of crates. Flipping the steel latches, Steve opened the crate. Lying in a bed of cushioning foam was a weapon unlike Steve had never seen before. Stuck to the lid of the crate was a piece of paper, sort of like a label, that said 'Phase Two.'

Anger rushed through Steve's veins. He turned to another crate an opened it. A similar weapon rested in it. Steve was in a room full of advanced weapons of mass destruction. Fury was hiding something from them. He was using the Tesseract to make weapons. He wasn't concerned with clean energy and self-sustaining power. The director was like every other person in power. He wanted the Tesseract to make weapons so he could be in control. Steve grabbed a gun, slammed the crates shut, and stormed out of the room. He had a few words for Fury.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Okay, so I was really excited to write this part so I couldn't wait. I reaaaaally hope you like it and it doesn't sound stupid. I don't know when I'll have time to update again. School's started back up so... we'll see. Um... I guess we're getting to the end of the movie soon. I'm not sure how I want to end this story or if there'll be a sequel or anything. We'll see. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Eleven:

Waverly knew the plan. Fury was sending Natasha down to use her manipulative spy magic on Loki. She was going to interrogate him and pry his plan from his mind without the evil freak show knowing. Waverly wasn't a spy. She couldn't manipulate people. But she intended to have words with Loki. When she went to Fury and requested an audience with their prisoner, Fury objected. But Waverly was determined to talk to Loki; whether Fury liked it or not.

She waited until she heard Natasha's voice come over her ear piece. Waverly was too jumpy to pay attention to the words. All she knew was that Natasha was done with Loki and was heading to the lab. That meant it was clear for Waverly to head down to the detention level for her chat. A few SHIELD agents gave her weird looks as Waverly made her way to the lowest level of the helicarrier. It wasn't often that Fury's secretary was the one ordered to the detention level. Still, no one questioned her.

Waverly entered the massive room that was meant as a means to control the Hulk if necessary. She walked across the metal catwalk, her boots clanking and breaking the thick silence in the room. Loki turned in his glass and steel cell to look at her. He smiled wickedly.

Waverly held back a shudder. This dude was seriously creepy. His eyes were an eerie blue-green that seemed to bore into her, looking into her soul.

"I've been expecting you."

Swallowing her fear, Waverly approached the glass. "Have you now?"

"Oh yes." Loki's drawl was even more arrogant than Tony's, if that was possible. "Agent Waverly Barton. Clint's _sister_." Loki said the word with a sneer that made Waverly uncomfortable. "You're dear Director Fury's secretary, aren't you?"

Waverly didn't answer. Loki was trying to worm his way into her mind and mess with her. "What did you do to my brother?"

Loki laughed. "I see. Straight to the point."

"Answer me."

Loki arched a dark eyebrow. "Or you'll what? Shoot me?" Loki laughed again. "You are no agent. You are a child. Weak, scared, useless."

Waverly clenched her fists and felt her nails dig into the palms of her hands. "What did you do to my brother?"

"I haven't done anything to your brother."

Waverly was quickly losing her patience. "Clint. What. Did. You. Do. To. Him?"

Loki's lips curled up his face in an evil grin. "You call him your brother. Tell me, _girl_, has he ever mentioned your parents?"

Waverly's mind was losing its focus. She unclenched her fists. Her breathing was rapidly increasing. Clint hardly ever mentioned their parents. All Waverly knew was that they had died and Clint was left to raise her. But something had always bothered Waverly. Something didn't make sense. Clint was just a few years older than her. Supposedly, their parents had died when Waverly was very little, which was why she had no memories of them. How, then, did a child not much older than her raise her? Waverly swallowed before she answered Loki. She couldn't keep the waver out of her voice. "Hardly."

"That's because his parent are not you parents."

Waverly's eyes widened.

Loki laughed again. "He told me everything. He found you, wandering the streets when you were thirteen. Brought you to SHIELD."

Waverly's head spun. She tried to tell herself Loki was just saying this to wind her up and unravel her. He was just trying to get under her skin and distract her before the war started. But, a tiny voice in the back of her head told her Loki might be telling the truth.

"No one knows who," Loki sneered, "or _what_ you are. SHEILD gave you some drugs, altered your memory. Then Clint fed you the story of how you're his sister."

Waverly attempted to process this information, but her mind couldn't handle it at the moment. She was on the brink of hyperventilating. Before she, or Loki, could say anything else, what sounded like a massive explosion rocked the helicarrier. Waverly was knocked to the ground. Loki just managed to keep his balance. He smiled from behind the glass, his eyes dark and cold.

"Ah, it appears your_ brother_ is here at last."

Climbing back to her feet, Waverly didn't really know what to do. The more she tried to convince herself Loki was lying, the more his story made sense. It confirmed all the doubts she had about her past. Now, Loki was telling her Clint was attacking the ship. Waverly took a cautious step backward. She was close to tears now, confused more than ever.

Loki sneered at her. "You'd better hurry. Wouldn't want to miss your brother before Fury kills him."

Waverly turned and ran before the tears could spill from her eyes. She sprinted all the way back up to the bridge. The helicarrier was in complete chaos. Agents were running around, trying to regain control of the ship. Waverly could hear the sounds of combat coming from the bridge. In her earpiece, she heard Hill explaining that an engine had been blown. Alarms were blaring through the halls and the ship was listing horribly to the right. Waverly kept running, she wasn't quite sure where she was going or what she was planning to do. She just felt that the farther away she got from Loki, the better she'd feel. And if Clint was the one attacking the helicarrier, maybe she could find him and get him back on their side.

Sprinting around a corner, Waverly slammed right into Steve, who was back in full uniform. Waverly toppled to the floor, but Steve was unfazed.

"Waverly! Where were you?" Steve grabbed Waverly by the shoulders and pulled her back up into a standing position.

"Doesn't matter," Waverly said, her voice shaking. Waverly shook herself a few times before she could get back into the situation. For the moment, she'd have to forget what Loki said, true or not. Right now, they were all in some serious trouble. "What's going on?"

"Something blew an engine. We gotta get out and fix it."

Waverly's eyes widened. "What do you mean we?"

"You, Stark, and I."

The hyperventilation was coming back. "Me? G-go out there? What am I supposed to do?"

Steve gripped Waverly more tightly by the shoulders. "I don't understand how all this stuff works. Stark is going to clear the rotors but I have to check the electronics. I need some help."

Waverly swallowed a huge knot of anxiety that had crawled from her stomach to her throat. "O-okay," she stammered. "But I'm… I'm not a real agent. I can't… fight."

"You won't have to. We just have to get the engine running again. Come on." Steve released Waverly's shoulders and grabbed her hand. The soldier took off at a run, dragging Waverly behind him.

Despite the chaos that surrounded them, Steve felt very much in control. He worked best under pressure. This was his element. Stark was busy getting into his metal contraption and Steve needed to meet him outside, thirty-thousand feet in the air, to help him repair an engine Steve knew nothing about. Okay, so maybe this wasn't exactly Steve's element. But there was no more science talk. That was a step forward. Now was a time for action. Steve was good at action.

The soldier ran through the helicarrier, Waverly trailing behind him. For someone who claimed to not be good at combat and athletics, Waverly was keeping up with Steve's pace. In no time at all, the two of them reached the hatch that led out to the engine's control panel; on a catwalk, high in the air while they were traveling at an alarming speed.

The winds whipped around them and Steve and Waverly had to yell to hear each other, though they were only feet apart.

"Where's Stark?" Waverly asked. Steve noticed she hadn't let go of his hand. She was gripping it so tightly, Steve was losing circulation in his fingers. Waverly's other hand gripped the railing of the catwalk as if it was her life. Which it was. Steve didn't want to think about what would happen if either of them lost their balance and fell.

Steve looked out into the sky around them. Smoke trailed up from the damaged engine and clouds were ripped apart as the helicarrier slashed through the sky. "Stark!" Steve yelled. "We're here."

"Good. Let's see what we got." Iron Man flew into view, hovering above the broken engine. He scanned the damage, muttered something, then addressed Steve and Waverly. "Get to the control panel and tell me which relays are in the overload position." Iron Man pointed to the control panel.

"Oh lord," Waverly muttered.

Steve barely heard her. He saw their problem. The control panel was on the other side of a huge gap created by the explosion. Steve could easily jump to a railing a few feet away and swing to a ledge near the control panel, but how would Waverly get there? Steve needed her help. Already he was confused. He had no clue what overload position on the relays would look like. Turning to her, Steve took a breath to calm the nerves that were twisting in his gut. Steve hardly ever got nervous during a situation. What was happening to him?

"Hold on tight. And don't look down." Steve bent his knees so Waverly could reach up and lace her arms around his neck. With the woman's chest pressed against his back, Steve could feel her rapid heartbeat. This was definitely not Waverly's line of work. Just before Steve jumped, he heard her choke out a desperate prayer.

"Ooooh God."

Steve landed on the ledge, but just barely. He wasn't used to carrying excess weight. Still, he steadying himself and allowed Waverly to slide down his back. Her knees were shaking and her face was white.

"Oh jeeze. Oh jeeze."

Steve steadied her and gently pushed her to the control panel. He slid the panel open and looked at the mess of technology before him. He was looking at some kind of high tech fuse box. This was way beyond his scope of intelligence.

Steve heard Stark's voice in his ear. "What's it look like in there?"

"It seems to run on some form or electricity." Steve said lamely.

Stark sighed. "Get Waverly to look at it."

Waverly looked as if she was about to vomit. She squeezed her eyes shut, gripping Steve and the railing for dear life.

"Waverly, which relays are in overload position?" Steve yelled against the wind.

Waverly opened her eyes and took a shaky step towards the control panel. Without saying anything, she indicated what was overloaded. Steve knew enough to flip them back into their proper position and to press a few buttons to get the engine's electronic motor back up and running.

"Okay," Steve yelled, "the relays are intact. What's our next move?" Steve slid the control panel closed. He left Waverly clinging to the railing. He walked to the edge of the ledge and saw Iron Man above them, smashing pieces of debris from the rotors.

Tony answered him. "Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't reengage without a jump. I'm gonna have to get in there and push."

Though he disliked Stark, Steve knew if he jump started the rotors, he'd become Iron Man confetti. "Well if that thing gets up to speed, you'll be shredded."

What Stark said next made absolutely no sense. Before he could finish, Steve interrupted him. "Speak English."

Stark sighed with irritation, but simplified it for the captain. "See that red lever? It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it. Wait for my word."

Steve saw the lever Stark was talking about. It was back on the first ledge he and Waverly had been on. The soldier turned to Waverly. "Stay here," he called. "I'll come get you when this is finished. Just hold on tight."

Waverly didn't argue. She had no desire to go flying through the air on Steve's back again. She wrapped her arms around the metal railing and gave Steve a nod.

With a running leap, Steve jumped back to the other ledge. He stood by the red lever, waiting for Stark's word. Then, because things could never be simple, Steve saw out of the corner of his eyes, several of Loki's little minions. One pulled the pin from a grenade and tossed it up towards Steve. Steve leapt over the gap separating him and Waverly and knocked the grenade down. It exploded feet below the helicarrier, causing no damage. Steve heard Waverly scream but he didn't have time to reassure her. He jumped down to where the turned agents were. He punched one in the face, knocking him down, then kicked the other in the chest. The first agent had gotten to his feet and attacked Steve from behind. Steve twisted and threw him from the ship. The soldier didn't really think about what he had just done. Death was an unavoidable part of war.

Loki's other minion began firing at Steve. Steve ducked and grabbed an abandoned rifle before he jumped back up to the ledge with the red lever. He stood at the lever and quickly figured out the workings of the gun. He exchanged gun fire with the agent below him.

Meanwhile, Waverly had found her voice again. She watched from her perch as Steve fought. She was overwhelmingly scared but she wished she could do something to help Steve. She didn't get to dwell on that thought for long. With a lurch, the helicarrier tilted dangerously in the air. They had lost another engine. Below her, Steve lost his footing and slipped from his ledge.

"Steve!" Waverly screamed. She felt her stomach flip over.

Steve managed to grab onto a severed cable dangling from the helicarrier. He grabbed on just in time. Steve couldn't remember a more terrifying situation. He was dangling thirty thousand feet in the air from a massive war ship that was rapidly losing altitude. Meanwhile, he was being shot at and Waverly, who was completely out of her mind, was screaming back on her ledge. Somewhere above them, Stark was pushing the rotors, expecting Steve to pull the red lever any second now.

The G forces pulling on Steve's body were something no normal human would have been able to withstand. The ship was falling, dragging him down, but the wind was slamming against him, pushing him back up into the air. Steve was glad for his super strength, otherwise he wouldn't be able to hang on to the cable.

Steve heard Stark's voice in his ear. "Captain, the lever."

Steve was surprised how calm his voice was when he answered. "I need a minute here."

"Lever. Now." Tony sounded desperate.

Steve grit his teeth and pulled himself up along the cable. It took longer than it should have but he finally reached the catwalk again. Jamming his fingers through the metal, he used the floor as a sort of ladder and pulled himself back onto the helicarrier. Immediately, he was fired upon. He felt the helicarrier steadying and they stopped losing altitude.

Whoever was shooting at him had terrible aim. Or, it might be the fact they he was trying to aim on an aircraft that was barely under control at the moment. Whatever the reason, Steve was thankful. The shots missed him and he managed to reach up and grab the lever. He pulled it down, hoping he had gotten there soon enough.

He must have because a second later, he saw Iron Man zip by and attack Loki's remaining minion. With their current situation under control, Steve dropped to his knees and hung his head. He was dripping with sweat and covered in grime. The soldier was exhausted. But he wasn't done yet. He had to go back and get Waverly.

Waverly was on her ledge, holding onto the railing with a death grip. She was crying and screaming and all sorts of hysterical. Steve knew why she was just a secretary. He managed one more leap through the air. Standing at Waverly's side, he offered a hand to her. Steve had to pry her from the railing before he could jump back down to where Stark was. Once the three of them were on stable ground, Waverly buried her face in Steve's chest and sobbed.

"I can't do this! I can't do this!"

Steve pulled her away from him. "You did fine. You did great. It's all right now."

Waverly opened her mouth to say something else but Fury's voice in all their ears silenced the conversation.

"Agent Coulson is down."

Tony closed his eyes and sighed. Steve dropped his head. Waverly couldn't hold it in. This on top of everything else was just too much. Her sobs returned and she fell back into Steve's chest. The soldier put his arm around her. Nothing he could say would fix this.

* * *

Once everyone was safely back inside, they met on the bridge. It was then Steve realized that not everyone was safely back inside. Dr. Banner and Thor weren't present. Coulson was dead. Fury and Hill were both banged up and bruised. Natasha wasn't present either. He and Tony were both sore and exhausted. Waverly had managed to pull herself together but she was still clearly shaken up. Fury was talking but Steve hardly heard him. The soldier was too busy looking at the blood soaked Captain America trading cards on the table before him. He hadn't known Coulson long but Steve was severely sorry that the agent was dead.

Fury said something that must have made Stark angry because the billionaire suddenly got up and left the room. Waverly took a shaky breath before leaving as well. Steve flipped a card around his fingers. Coulson's blood was still warm. It made Steve sick. Steve wasn't sure what Fury was planning to do next, but the soldier was sure about one thing. Loki would pay for Coulson's death. Steve planned to avenge their fallen comrade.

* * *

Waverly was in her room. She felt numb. Her brain wouldn't allow her to process all that had happened in the recent past. If she thought about it, surely she'd lose it again. So, instead, she sat on her bed, staring down at her feet. She had a few little cuts and bruises from all the sky high acrobatics she had done clinging to Steve's back, but she was relatively unscathed compared to the others. Clint had been on the ship. Someone, Natasha most likely, had gone to intercept him. Waverly didn't know what happened to him but she didn't think she could handle hearing about it right now. She was so lost in shock and numbness, Waverly didn't hear Steve enter her room.

"We're going to New York." The captain said.

Waverly jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Clint requested you as copilot."

Waverly wasn't quite sure if her ears were working properly. "Clint? He's all right?"

Steve nodded. "Just woke up. Natasha hit him really hard in the head. He's back."

Relief washed over Waverly. "Oh thank God."

"I didn't know you could fly a jet," Steve continued. He walked further into Waverly's room and sat beside her on the bed.

"That's about the only useful thing I can do."

"Well," Steve said with a sigh, "we're going to New York to stop Loki. Are you with us?"

"Steve, I… I can't do this." Waverly tried not to cry, but her eyes welled up with tears again. "I'm not a soldier. I can't fight."

Steve didn't say anything. He just nodded and looked down. "I understand. You'll be safer up here anyway."

Waverly felt the blue eyed gaze of the soldier on her. He was still looking down at his feet, but out of the corner of his eye he was watching Waverly. He looked nervous, but Waverly wasn't sure why. War was what he was good at. Why would he be nervous?

Beside Waverly, Steve took a breath. He had never been good around women, ever. Peggy was the closest thing he had to a girlfriend. Still, after all that had happened today, he couldn't ignore the feeling wriggling around in his stomach. He had put Waverly in a very dangerous situation that the two of them barely got out of. Now, Steve was about to dive back into battle with Clint, Natasha, and Tony to defeat Loki. Before he lost his courage, Steve straightened up. He reached around Waverly and cupped his hand behind her neck. Steve leaned in gently and kissed her. She felt warm. At first, she tried to draw away, but then she leaned in and kissed Steve back. When Steve released her, she looked surprised, but in a good way.

"Wh-what was that for?"

Steve took a breath. "In case I don't come back." The soldier stood, turned, and made to leave Waverly's room. Before he vanished out the doorway, Waverly called to him.

"Steve, wait. I'll go."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: A little short but the next few chapters will be action packed since we're at the end of the movie. Um... I don't have much to say about this chapter. Thanks again for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. I hope you like!**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Twelve:

Waverly followed Steve through the Helicarrier to the infirmary. Agents were still running about fixing the damage Clint had done. Loki had escaped so numerous agents were stationed at strategic points, armed from head to toe. Alarms were still blaring in certain hallways and emergency lights flickered on and off. Steve walked quickly through the chaos and Waverly had to jog to keep up with him. She couldn't believe how in control and confident he was at a time like this. She was freaking out. For one thing, Steve just kissed her. Full on kissed her. Waverly wasn't about to pretend she didn't like it, but she was shocked. Steve seemed so awkward around women. Second, she had just recovered from her adventure outside. Waverly's knees still felt weak and if she let her brain fully realize what she had just done, she began to feel nauseous again. Finally, Loki's words still buzzed around in her head. Waverly didn't know what she'd do if what Loki said was true. Needless to say, she was a little apprehensive about seeing her brother. Though, she took comfort in the fact that he requested her as copilot. Even if Loki was right and Clint wasn't really her brother, the archer still trusted her enough to fly into battle with him.

Oh, right. There's that whole matter of the battle too. Waverly still didn't know why she agreed to go. She would be next to useless in a fight. Loki had already messed with her head, she had flipped out when she was supposed to be helping Steve with the engine control panel, and she was the only one sobbing like a child when the team was told of Coulson's death. What was she thinking, wading into a war? The emotional toll would be ten times what the past few hours had been. Still, as terrified as she was, Waverly knew she'd be less nervous if she went with Steve and her brother. That way, if they were going to die, at least they'd all be together.

They had finally reached the infirmary. Steve paused before he led Waverly through the door. "He's back, you know. Natasha said he's fine."

Waverly nodded. "Right. I know." She swallowed the lump in her throat which turned into a knot in her stomach. She needed to talk to Clint about what Loki said. But now was not the time. They had a job to do.

Steve walked up to the automatic doors, which opened with a 'whoosh.' Waverly followed him inside. "You ready?" The soldier asked the two assassins sitting on the medical cot.

Natasha nodded. Clint stood up when he saw Waverly. "Waverly!"

"Um," Waverly felt her stomach withering with anxiety. "Hey, Clint. Are you… are you okay?"

Clint rubbed the back of his head. "Head's a little sore. Got Tasha to thank for that one."

Waverly attempted a smile.

"Now, though, I'm ready to go kick some giant gold reindeer ass."

Now, Waverly really did smile. Clint was definitely back. Real brother or not, Clint was the only 'family' Waverly had. Whatever Loki said, whatever was true, Clint and Waverly were as good as siblings. Waverly fully entered the room and engulfed Clint in a hug. The archer, SHIELD agent, and assassin was not one for displays of affection; even between him and his sister. He blushed. Natasha rolled her eyes and Steve snickered. Clint hugged Waverly back for a moment and then the warm, fuzzy moment was over. The super soldier, the master assassins, and secretary turned warrior(-ish) abandoned the infirmary and made for the hangar on one of the lower levels of the ship.

* * *

Weaving through SHIELD pilots and other agents, Steve led their not so rag-tag team to a jet that was fully prepared for take off. Upon trying to enter the jet, they were stopped by an agent.

"Sir, you're not authorized to be here."

Steve held up a hand. "Son," his voice was one of restrained calm. "Just don't." Brushing past the agent, Steve led the team aboard.

Clint and Waverly headed towards the cockpit while Natasha secured herself into a seat in the cargo area of the plane. As Clint flipped switches and fired up the jet's engine; Steve realized just how stupid he had been the past hour or so. Not only had he agreed to Clint's request to have Waverly as copilot, he convinced her come with them. Waverly wasn't a soldier. She wasn't like Peggy. Not that that was a bad thing; Waverly was a remarkable woman in her own ways. But leading her into a war? Steve knew she was authorized to carry a gun but he doubted if she ever used it. He knew she had basic self defense skills but she was nowhere near strong enough to fight a god. Steve had barely stood his ground against Loki. And, to top it all off, Waverly was not at all emotionally prepared to survive in a battle.

Add to all of that the fact that Steve had kissed the girl! It wasn't that Steve regretted kissing her. Something in his mind clicked after the attack on the helicarrier. Thinking back on the event, he realized just how terrible he would have felt if something had happened to Waverly. The thought of losing her was just heartbreaking.

As the jet took off, the sound of the engines brought Steve back to World War II. He was thrust into a flashback of his battle with Red Skull before he crash landed the jet in the arctic. Steve began tapping his foot in counts of four to keep his mind off the memory.

"Steve?" Waverly glanced over her shoulder from the cockpit. "Are you all right?"

Steve stopped the foot tapping but couldn't sit still. "Uh, it's just…"

He didn't need to finish. Waverly understood. Steve had gone too long without his medication and now the symptoms of his post traumatic stress were coming back. "Steve, just focus, okay? Relax."

Steve nodded and took a seat beside Natasha.

The jet screeched through the sky, getting closer and closer to New York and their target. The closer they got, the more nervous Steve became. Not about the battle; he was fine in battle. He was worried about Waverly. When they were just a few miles away, Steve unbuckled his seatbelt and entered the cockpit.

"Waverly, I need you to listen to me."

Waverly took off the headset she was wearing and turned the jet fully over to her brother's control. "What's up?"

"When we get to New York, I don't want you in the middle of the fighting. You help any civilians that get stuck in the cross fire." Steve looked intently at Waverly while he spoke and the girl could see the concern etched across his face. "You do exactly what I tell you. If I tell you to get out of there, you go. No arguments."

"Steve, I'm not –" Waverly tried to object.

"No. Listen to me. If something happened to you…" Steve closed his eyes and took a breath. "Just listen to me."

"Okay, Steve."

Steve opened his eyes and locked gazes with Waverly before nodding and turning back to his seat.

Clint, having witnessed the whole exchange, turned to Waverly. "So, what's going on with you and the captain?"

Waverly blushed. "What?! Nothing."

"Waverly, I'm trained to know when people are lying."

Waverly huffed indignantly. "The same thing that's going on with you and Natasha."

Now Clint was the one blushing. "There's nothing – Just remember, I've got my eyes on everything."


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Woo... this took me a long time to write. I suck at battle scenes so this was a little tough... Anyways... I figure one more chapter for the battle, then a chapter for the end of the movie... I'll prolly have one more after that to sort of round off Steve and Waverly's relationship. Some people have been asking if Waverly will confront Clint about what Loki said... I think I'm going to write a sequel and it'll be in that. I hope Waverly's integration into the battle seems okay. I guess that's it. Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/follow/etc. I hope you like!**

**I own absolutely nothing!**

Chapter Thirteen:

In the distance, Waverly could see the skyline of New York coming into focus. In the middle of all the buildings, a white 'Stark' glared in the afternoon soon. They were too far away to see for sure, but Waverly knew Loki was there, about to unleash an alien army. Strangely, Waverly was calm. The anxiety and fear she had been feeling ever since the attack on the helicarrier had melted away. She wasn't sure if it was the adrenalin pumping through her veins or sheer shock but Waverly knew if she lived through this, she'd have nightmares for a long time after this. _No wonder Steve has post traumatic stress. War's a bitch._

Next to her, Clint put the jet on autopilot. He turned to Waverly. He looked nervous. "Waverly, what I did… I…" Clint stammered into silence.

Waverly shook her head. "No, Clint, it's okay. It was all Loki."

Clint closed his eyes and sighed. "No. There were things I told Loki. Things I should have told you."

Waverly felt as if her stomach dropped from the plane and splattered on the concrete far below. She couldn't hear this right now; not before she was about to jump into a battle for the first time. She held up a hand. "Clint, let's not do this now."

Nodding, Clint turned back to the controls. They had breached New York City airspace. Clint circled the jet around Stark Tower. "Stark," he said over the radio, "We're here."

Waverly didn't hear Tony's reply. She was too busy forcing her brain to focus on what they were about to do and not what Clint had just said. He had basically confirmed what Loki had told her. But no. She didn't have time for this. Not now. Loki was a villain. He was the god of mischief, whatever the hell that meant. Waverly only believed in on God and Loki sure as hell wasn't Him. Loki needed to be taken down, and if Waverly could help with that, she would. The bastard made it personal.

Waverly's mind was jerked back to the present when the jet screamed between two buildings and Iron Man flew across their path. Behind him, a trail of aliens riding strange vehicles and covered head to toe in armor were shooting at Stark and basically anything in sight. Clint turned control of the jet over to Waverly and manned the jet's weaponry. It was hard for Waverly to take everything in. There were the aliens in front of them, people on the streets below running and no doubt screaming, police lights flashed in the distance, and above them, a blue ring of energy surrounded what looked like a black hole out of which, Loki's army was spilling.

Clint took out the first wave of Chituari without much trouble. Waverly flipped control back to him and Clint ascended to the level of Tony's death-defying balcony. Standing there, in all his green and gold foolishness was Loki.

"Wave," Clint said.

"I see him." Waverly pulled a targeting control into her lap and aimed at the god of mischief. Alongside Loki was Thor. Waverly was careful to wait for a shot in which Thor would be out of harm's way. She fired.

Loki fired back. Clint jerked the jet's controls but couldn't dodge the attack in time. The left wing burst into flames. Clint and Waverly immediately began guiding the jet down for a crash landing. In the back, Steve and Natasha braced themselves for impact.

Clint landed the jet, only crashing into a few buildings along the way. The second the aircraft hit solid ground, Waverly hit the button that opened the hatch. Natasha and Steve sprinted out, followed by Clint and finally Waverly.

* * *

Steve ran from the wreckage that was their jet. He heard Natasha's light footsteps behind him, closely followed by the thud of Clint's boots. A quick glance back told Steve Waverly was lagging behind, but still keeping up. Around them, the streets were blasted to rubble, cars were flipped and twisted, and fires burned every few feet. Sirens wailed and people screamed. All in all, mass chaos. Steve noticed his breathing was rapidly increasing, as well as his heart rate. He sensed a flashback coming on. Steve gritted his teeth and forced himself to breath normally. He stopped and allowed the other three to catch up with him.

Stark Tower was a block or so from them, towering into the sky. "We gotta get back up there!" Steve called.

He was cut off by a massive growling. His eyes flicked to the sky and the others followed his gaze. Coming out of the portal was what appeared to be a giant flying worm covering in thick plates of armor. From it, Chituari warriors were leaping into battle. Even after battle Red Skull face to face, which was a horrifying once in a lifetime experience, Steve was having trouble comprehending what he was seeing. He felt Natasha and Clint tense up beside him as the worm glided just feet above their heads and he heard Waverly utter, "Oh my god."

Steve spoke into his communicator. "Stark, you seeing this?"

"Seeing." Stark replied. "Still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

Steve was confused. "Banner?" What did Banner have to do with anything? He was gone and no one knew where. They had bigger problems to deal with.

"Just keep me posted." Stark cut the communication and from above, Steve saw him take on the giant worm.

A squadron of Chituari flew low over them, shooting like crazy. Natasha and Clint dove behind an abandoned taxi. Steve grabbed Waverly unceremoniously and threw her to safety before ducking behind the cab himself.

Clint had his bow out. He nodded at Steve. "We've got civilians trapped down there."

Before Steve could respond, one of the Chituari's crafts zoomed by them. Riding upon it was Loki.

"Loki!" Steve turned to keep his eyes locked on their enemy but then he saw what Clint had indicated. There was a barricade of police cars barely holding off the Chituari. Innocent civilians were running in the streets, screaming for their lives. From the windows of numerous office buildings, Steve could see panicked workers with no way out except for the street, which was filled with an alien army. "They're fish in a barrel down there."

At that moment, several Chituari dropped down from the sky and began firing at them. "We got this!" Natasha called. "Go!"

"You sure you can handle them?" Steve asked.

"Captain," Clint stood and pressed a few buttons on his bow. On his back, his quiver of arrows spun and whirred and armed an arrow with a specialized tip. "It would be my genuine pleasure."

Meanwhile, Natasha pulled to hand guns from holsters on her belt and took aim.

Steve nodded. He turned to Waverly. "Come with me." Steve took off at a run towards the trapped civilians. He jumped over cars and piles of debris. Steve knew Waverly wasn't as athletically fit as he was, but after her performance in the jet and on the helicarrier, Steve knew she'd be okay. But, when Steve felt the heat of an explosion crash into his back, his stomach dropped and he turned to make sure Waverly hadn't been hit.

He saw her head vanish behind a minivan turned on its side. A moment later, Waverly ran out from behind the wrecked vehicle, a toddler in her arms and the remaining family trailing behind her. She led them to the entrance of the subway station where they'd be safe.

Steve quickly turned back and ran across an overturned taxi. He dodged a few shots from the Chituari and approached a group of New York policemen attempting to get some sort of grasp of the situation.

"You need men in these buildings." Steve indicated the buildings. The policemen looked stunned to be receiving orders from a guy who looked like he was wearing an American flag, but Steve kept issuing commands. "There are people inside and they're going to be running into the line of fire. You take them to the basement or the subway. You keep them off the streets." Steve pointed down the street. "I need a perimeter as far back as 39th."

One of the officers had finally found his voice. "Why the hell should I take orders from you?"

As if on cue, a squadron of aliens landed around them. Steve blocked a blast with his shield and the proceeded to take out the attackers. He was finished in a matter of seconds and knocked the last alien away with the brunt of his shield. Without further hesitation, the officer repeated Steve's orders into his walkie-talkie. Steve didn't stand around to make sure orders were followed. He jumped back onto the street and ran back into the thick of things.

* * *

Steve had gone off ahead of her. There was no way Waverly would be able to keep up with him. Instead, she hung back and looked for anyone who needed help. She had never been in a fire fight before, never been in a real combat situation, but something clicked in her brain and instinct took over. Waverly heard the sizzling energy of one of the Chituari's weapons firing. Without hesitation, she launched herself behind an overturned minivan before she could get hit with the shockwave of the explosion she knew would follow. To her surprise, she found a family huddled behind the van; two young parents with a child no more than two. Both parents widened their eyes.

As soon as the blast had cleared, Waverly held up her hands. "It's okay!" She pulled her SHIELD badge from a pocket on her jumpsuit. "Come with me." Waverly scooped up the child and took off at a run. She heard the parents following her. Waverly wasn't quite sure where she was going. All she knew was she had to get these innocent people away from all this chaos. She wracked her brain, trying to remember anything from her training that would serve useful here. Not much came to mind. Waverly hadn't been trained like most SHIELD agents. Once it was found she wasn't combat material, she was scrapped from the training schedule and instead assigned as Fury's secretary. Panic started rising in Waverly's chest. The child she was holding was crying, making it even harder to Waverly to concentrate. Then, she saw it. Concrete stairs leading down into the subway. It was blocked by some chucks of blasted pavement, but Waverly was sure she could clear enough room for the family to get down there and hide.

"The subway!" Waverly called over her shoulder. She turned and ran backwards a few paces, handing the child back to the mother. "Get down there and stay down there! You'll be safe." Waverly turned back around and used all her strength to clear a path for the family. Once had disappeared below street level, Waverly turned and scanned the street, looking for Steve.

* * *

Steve had rejoined Hawkeye and Black Widow. They were taking on half a dozen Chituari. Natasha had grabbed one of the fallen alien's weapons and was using it to fight the fallen soldier's comrades. Steve blocked a shot, covering both himself and Clint, then used the edge of his shield as a sort of sword, slicing through a Chituari who made the mistake of getting too close. Next thing Steve knew, a flash of lightning struck the remaining aliens and Thor landed beside them. To round off their team, Steve saw Waverly jogging up to them. She was battered, bruised, and bloody, but at least she was alive.

"You all right?" Steve asked her. Waverly nodded, out of breath. She was the only one in the group unarmed. "Agent Romanoff, you got a weapon for her."

Natasha held out the Chituari weapon. "Got this. Trigger's in the middle. Or you can just hit 'em with it."

Steve took the weapon and handed it to Waverly. Waverly took it in her hands. It looked odd at first; Waverly armed and dangerous. She had absolutely no battle experience. But Steve saw a fire in her eyes. Waverly was no doubt scared beyond all reason, but she was adamant about joining them in the fight.

Steve turned to Thor. "What's the story upstairs?"

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable," Thor explained.

Over all their earpieces, Tony added, "Thor's right. We have to focus on these guys."

"So," Natasha said, "How do we do this?"

"As a team," Steve answered.

"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor gripped his hammer and glared up towards Stark Tower.

Clint secured a tip to one of his arrows. "Yeah, well get in line."

"I wouldn't mind a go at the bastard either," Waverly said. She shifted the Chituari weapon from one hand to another, testing its weight in her hands.

"Save it," Steve ordered. "Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things could go wild."

The team knew he was right. Despite the fact that everyone present wanted to smash Loki to pieces, they nodded in agreement.

Steve continued. "We got Stark up top. He's gonna need us to –"

Steve was cut off by the sound of a motorcycle. The captain turned around and saw a disheveled Bruce Banner, in clothes that looked a little too large for him ride, up to them on a battered bike. He stopped and approached them.

"So," he said, gesturing around. "This all seems horrible."

Banner and Romanoff shared an exchange while Steve radioed to Tony. "Stark, we got him."

"Banner?"

"Just like you said." Though Steve thought Dr. Banner looked a little worse for the wear, he was reassured by the doctor's presence. If anything could handle these alien monsters, it was the Hulk.

Over the communicators, Tony instructed Steve to tell Bruce to suit up. "I'm bringing the party to you."

With a sound barrier crushing 'whoosh,' Iron Man rounded a sky scraper. Behind him was another one of the giant alien worms.

"I don't see how that's a party," Natasha said sarcastically.

Clint swore and Waverly fought down a wave of nausea. Bruce, however, walked confidently towards the giant beast.

"Dr. Banner," Steve said with urgency. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

Banner looked over his shoulder to face Steve. "That's my secret Cap', I'm always angry." With that, Banner turned back around and began turning into the Hulk. His skin turned green and muscles exploded all over his body. With a roar, the doctor's transformation was complete. He slammed into the worm, and together, he and Tony finished it off. It exploded in a ball of fire. Steve grabbed Natasha and Waverly and then shielded all three of them from the blast. Before the monster could fully explode, the Chituari warriors jumped from it, landing on nearby buildings. As the team regrouped, ready to face their enemy with renewed confidence, the aliens called out a battle cry.

Steve tightened his shield on his forearm. Beside him, Waverly gripped the alien weapon and planted her feet firmly on the ground. The Hulk roared back at the aliens, Thor readied his hammer, and Natasha reloaded her gun. Stark landed down beside them and to round things off, Barton knocked an arrow. Above them, at least three more worms spilled from the portal along with another wave of Chituari.

"Uh, guys," Natasha said, nodding towards the sky.

Steve felt all eyes turn on him. He was stunned when Stark said, "Call it Captain."

Steve took a breath. His mind was buzzing. He quickly assessed the strengths of each individual member of their team, and discerned where their abilities would be best. "All right, listen up. Until we can close the portal, our priority is containment." Steve faced Clint. "Barton, I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays." Next, the captain faced Iron Man. "Stark, you go the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out you turn in back or you turn it to ash. Thor." Steve noticed the god of thunder locked eyes on Steve. He looked a little uneasy being the one receiving orders instead of giving them, but he didn't argue. "You gotta try and bottle neck that portal. Slow 'em down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up." Turning to Natasha and Waverly, Steve said, "The three of us, we'll stay on the ground, keep the fighting here." Finally, he addressed the Hulk. Steve pointed at the Chituari clinging to the buildings around them. "And Hulk, smash."

No one waited for another word. At the Captain's orders, everyone took off into battle. Steve had a moment before the Chituari landed beside him on the street. He grabbed Waverly by the shoulders and forced her to look him in the eye. "Are you sure you can do this?"

Waverly nodded but she looked like if she spoke, she'd throw up.

"Remember, if I tell you to get out of here, you go. Don't worry about me."

Waverly hesitated but she nodded again. Steve released her as their enemy surrounded them and together with Natasha, they jumped back into battle.

* * *

They had only been fighting for a few minutes, but to Waverly it felt like hours. Every muscle in her body screamed in pain. She was covered in dirt, blood, and sweat. Waverly knew that if it wasn't for the complete state of shock and the sheer fact that her fight or flight system had taken over, she'd be a complete mess. The only thing keeping her sane, beside the adrenalin in her veins, was Steve's presence beside her. Even though they were vastly outnumbered, Waverly couldn't help but feel safe beside Steve.

Waverly didn't know a lot about fighting, but she knew enough to keep her alive. She spun and whipped the alien weapon around, taking out enemies. She ducked and weaved in and out of overturned cars. Sure, she wasn't as good as Natasha and Steve, but she managed to take out a few Chituari.

There was a break in the fighting. Natasha had procured another of the Chituari's weapons. She leaned against it and took a breath. "Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal down."

Waverly agreed but she knew they were powerless against the Tesseract. "There's no way we can stop that thing."

Steve stood beside the two women, catching his breath. "Our biggest guns couldn't touch it."

Above the three of them, Chituari were flying by on their strange vehicles. Waverly noticed Natasha was watching them curiously. "Maybe it's not about guns."

Steve seemed to catch onto whatever it was she was thinking. "If you want up there, you're gonna need a ride."

Natasha tossed aside the alien weapon. "I've already got a ride. I could use a boost though."

"Wait a second," Waverly gasped. "What are you two talking about?"

No one answered her. Instead, Steve asked Natasha, "Are you sure about this?"

The agent took a step backward and nodded. "Yeah. It's gonna be fun." Then, Natasha took off running. She leapt onto a car and into the air. Steve used his shield as a sort of spring board and launched her into the sky. She hitched a ride on one of the Chituari's vehicles.

"So now what do we do?" Waverly asked the Captain.

A few feet away, three Chituari soldiers landed and began shooting at Waverly and Steve. Waverly was about to jump out of the way but she felt Steve grab her around the waist. The captain covered them both with his shield. "Now, we fight."


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Okay... so like I have the movie memorized now because I had to watch the battle scene so much to get it right, not that I mind, haha. But anyways, one more chapter to wrap it up. I'll write a sequel but I don't know when. Thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed/etc. I hope you like.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Fourteen:

As the Chituari closed in on them, Waverly felt Steve push her away from him. She rolled and watched as Steve leapt to his feet and took out the alien. Waverly was about to jump in and assist the captain in taking out the other aliens that had cornered them, when her brother's voice came over her earpiece.

"Wave, there's a weak spot in their armor, between their shoulder blades."

"Right, Clint. Gotcha." Waverly was shocked by the sheer exhaustion in her voice.

"Are you all right?"

Before she could respond, Waverly had to jump out of the way of another Chituari while simultaneously swinging the weapon around to take out another alien. A few seconds later, Waverly saw Iron Man drop from the sky to assist them. Clint must have sent him. Iron Man fired one of the repulsor beams in his palms and Steve bounced the blast off his shield to take out an unsuspecting Chituari. Iron Man then took back off into the air, leaving Steve and Waverly to take out the rest.

One of the larger aliens engaged Steve in close range combat while Waverly busied herself by shooting from behind a pile of rubble. Waverly had taken out two Chituari from a distance when she heard a clatter and then a thud. Wheeling around, she saw Steve's shield laying several feet away from the captain, who was pinned down by the monstrous alien. Between Steve's hands, he held the end of the Chituari's weapon, which not only was some kind of laser, but also had a sharpened edge. Steve was just managing to keep the blade from slicing across his chest. Waverly jumped out from behind the debris and ran at the Chituari, driving her alien weapon in between the enemy's shoulder blades. The dying alien let out a cry, and black blood seeped from its wound. Steve kicked the Chituari away.

"You… okay?" Waverly's chest hurt with every word. She held out her hand and just managed to help Steve back to his feet.

Steve nodded. "Yeah. Thanks. What about you?"

Waverly saw concern in the soldier's blue eyes. If Waverly were to answer him honestly, the answer would be no. Not only was her chest searing in pain, but her arms and legs shook with exhaustion. To top all that, her stomach was knotted in nausea and it was quite a miracle that Waverly hadn't gotten sick yet. Add to that the mental and emotional toll the agent's first battle was taking on her and Waverly should have been a downright mess. But, Waverly knew if she answered Steve honestly, he would insist she get somewhere safe and hide. If Waverly was left alone to actually think about what was going on and to have time to worry not only about her own safety but the safety of her brother and Steve, Waverly knew she'd have a mental breakdown right then and there. So instead, she wiped the alien blood on the pant legs of her jumpsuit and nodded.

"I'm fine."

* * *

Steve knew Waverly was most definitely not fine. She was breathing in terrified gasps and she was shaking. Steve knew she was just clinging to her sanity. Waverly wasn't a soldier. This wasn't the place for her. Steve regretted asking her to come with them, even if Clint had insisted she be his copilot. Steve wanted to get Waverly out of harm's way. He wanted to lead her to safety with the other civilians. He was about to insist she leave when the captain heard Barton's voice over his earpiece.

"Captain, the bank of 42nd past Madison. They've cornered a lot of civilians in there."

Glancing down the street, Steve saw the bank in question on the corner of the next block. He could hear the screams. Steve turned back to Waverly.

"Go. Help them. I'll take the outside," she said. "I'll be fine." Not giving Steve time to argue, Waverly wrenched her weapon from the back of the dead alien and took off at a run down the street

Steve retrieved his shield and followed her. As he overtook her, he called over his shoulder. "Be careful." Steve sprinted towards the bank. He propelled himself off a car and rolled through an open window on the second floor. The building was large and the inside modeled after colonial times. At least two dozen civilians, having tried to shelter from the attack, were gathered on the ground floor. On the balcony above them, several Chituari were circling, brandishing their weapons. One of the aliens made a weird guttural sound, no doubt threatening Steve, then activated a small rectangular piece of metal. The rectangle lit up and began beeping. Steve didn't need to be a Chituari to understand what the contraption was. It was a bomb. Steve needed to get these people out of here, now.

Steve threw his shield, taking one of the aliens out. The rest of the Chituari began firing at him. Steve dove behind an overturned desk, then kicked it into one of the aliens that had been firing on him. He then ran up and grabbed the third and final alien by the neck, snapping it in two. He tossed the dead Chituari over the railing and called to the people below. "Everyone, clear out!"

The alien Steve had knocked down with the desk was apparently not as unconscious as Steve would have liked. The Chituari grabbed Steve around the neck from behind and with its free hand, pulled Steve's mask off his face. Steve struggled for a moment, caught by surprise by his sudden inability to breath. Then, the soldier flipped himself over the Chituari, kicked him in the back, and knocked him out for good.

A fourth alien that Steve had not seen before, suddenly appeared, scooping up the bomb. He glared at Steve and spoke in its grunting language. Steve dropped into a roll, grabbing his shield along the way, and stood up next to the half open window he had jumped through to get in. He jumped and balled himself up behind it just as the alien threw the bomb at him. The blast sent Steve crashing through the remainder of the window and onto a car below. The force was enough to collapse the roof of the vehicle. Despite his super human strength and ability to withstand pain and heal quickly, the collision took a toll on Steve. The wind was knocked out of him and he was throbbing in pain from his shoulders down to his waist. Steve rolled off the car, barely able to stand, and looked around him. He saw police and firemen guiding the civilians from the bank, with Waverly's assistance. At least the blast hadn't harmed any of them.

Waverly ran over to Steve. "What happened?"

Steve took a second to catch his breath and shake the shock from his body. "They had a bomb."

"Are you okay?" Waverly seemed to be ignoring her own injuries, looking Steve up and down, her eyes wide with worry. She was bleeding from a cut on her cheek and she was standing at an odd angle, as if it hurt to put weight on both her feet. Waverly was covered in dirt, sweat, and a mix of her own blood and that of the Chituari. Her jumpsuit was torn in various places. Steve doubted he looked any better.

"I'm Captain America. I can handle a hit like that." He reached forward and brushed the blood off Waverly's face. He couldn't really tell, but he thought he saw her blush.

It was a brief moment of calm. It didn't last long. Waverly gestured around her. "What are we going to do? They just keep coming."

Steve looked around as well. All around them was destruction and chaos. Windows were broken, cars overturned. The streets and sidewalks were reduced to piles of concrete debris. Broken fire hydrants leaked water onto the streets. Sires, alarms, and frightened screams echoed all around them. It looked hopeless. The police and army could barely stand their ground against the Chituari. The team, the Avengers they had dubbed themselves, was spread far too thin. Steve wasn't even sure if anyone was still alive beside Waverly and himself. A familiar roar a few blocks away told him Dr. Banner was still fighting. So, there were at least three of them, maybe more, against an entire alien army. And somewhere, Loki was still out there and who knew what he was up to. Things didn't look good.

Captain America or just plain Steve Rogers, it wasn't in Steve's nature to just give up. He would fight until he couldn't fight any longer. He was a soldier, it was his duty to protect the American people. But this was more than that. The whole world was at stake. Steve had almost failed to save the world once, he wasn't about to come that close again.

"We gotta keep fighting. Keep them away from the civilians." Steve fastened his shield to his arm and nodded towards the opposite end of the block. "Looks like Thor could use some help."

Waverly nodded and ran after Steve.

* * *

Thor was throwing his hammer with remarkable accuracy. Steve tossed his shield like a deadly Frisbee. Waverly just managed to stay on her feet, swatting Chituari away with the laser-spear-gun thing Natasha had given her. It had run out of whatever alien juice powering it, so Waverly swung it around, relying on brute strength to take out Chituari. That wasn't saying much. Waverly was nowhere near as strong as Clint or Natasha, let alone a super solider and an Asgardian god. Several times, Steve or Thor had to step in and take out several Chituari that had surrounded Waverly. Still, Waverly clung to whatever strength she could muster and kept fighting.

She stabbed an alien in the stomach and sent it falling to the ground. For a moment, she was unchallenged. Waverly turned to her partners in time to see Steve get hit in the stomach by one of the Chituari's blasts. The solider fell hard onto the cement.

"Steve!" Waverly hefted her weapon and ran over to help, but had to drop to the ground to dodge a blast aimed at her chest.

Meanwhile, Thor flipped a car with his hammer and sent it flying into the rest of the Chituari around them, crushing them. He turned, tossed his hammer at one remaining alien behind Waverly, and then walked over to help both the captain and the agent to their feet.

Steve clutched his stomach and tried to catch his breath. Even Thor was gasping with exhaustion. Waverly felt as if she was about to collapse. She felt light headed and dizzy. She steadied herself between Thor and Steve.

"Ready for another bout?" Thor asked.

Waverly, exhaustion finally overcoming her, shook her head. Just that motion threatened to make her pass out.

Next to her, Steve grabbed her arm to keep her on her feet. Turning to Thor he said, "Why? You getting' sleepy?"

Over Steve and Waverly's earpieces, Natasha broke radio silence. "I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."

* * *

Steve felt a sudden sense of hope. If they could shut the portal down, it would be a simple task of rounding up the Chituari that remained on Earth and capturing Loki. Easy compared with all they'd been through in the last few hours. "Do it!" Steve said without hesitation.

"No wait!" Tony's voice joined the conversation.

"Stark, these things are still coming." Steve was completely lost by Stark's desire to keep the portal open.

"I've got a nuke comin' in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it."

Steve felt his stomach tighten. A nuke? The military seriously fired a nuke at a civilian population. Then, Stark's words fully hit Steve as he saw Iron Man zoom by, holding onto the bomb. Stark was going to fly through the portal, sending the nuke to the Chituari's home territory. He was offering himself up to save the world. Tony Stark, the arrogant billionaire who never took anything seriously was going to take the biggest hit possible for the team. Maybe Tony was more like his dad after all. Steve's voice was tight when he said, "Stark, you know that's a one way trip."

Tony didn't answer.

Next to him, Steve heard Waverly gasp. "He isn't." Waverly grabbed onto Steve's arm and gripped it tightly. She had tears in her eyes which were locked on the portal and the small red and gold dot that was hurtling toward it.

Steve turned his own eyes to Iron Man. He counted down the seconds in his head. Tony vanished into the portal. Waverly's grip on Steve's arm tightened and even Thor lost his confident aura and tightened with anxiety. Steve felt his own heart rate speed up and his stomach twist nervously.

Waverly was holding her breath.

Steve had reached zero. The bomb had to have detonated. Around them, any remaining instantly fell to the ground. Tony hadn't come back through the portal. As if hearing his voice from another world, Steve said, "Close it."

Waverly fell into Steve's chest, finally having been broken. She sobbed. Steve put an arm around her and watched as the portal grew smaller and smaller. At the last possible second, Steve saw something fall through. For a horrible second, he thought more Chituari were coming. Then he realized it was Stark.

"Son of a gun."

Waverly pulled herself away from Steve just enough to look up.

Sure enough, Iron Man had come back through the portal. But something wasn't right.

"He's not slowing down." Thor said. He began twirling his hammer, ready to take off. But before he could, Steve saw a green blur fly through the sky, catch Stark, and land on a nearby building.

Steve released a breath he hadn't known he was holding. The Hulk had caught Iron Man's fall. Banner dropped to the ground beside Steve and company, tossing Stark aside. Steve ran over with Waverly and Thor.

Thor ripped Tony's faceplate off, but underneath, Stark was unconscious. Steve dropped down to his knees, not quite sure what to do. Would CPR work on a man with an arc reactor in his chest?

Banner then roared in Stark's face, not only surprising everyone around him, but shocking Tony back to consciousness as well. The billionaire gasped, his eyes flew open, and the arc reactor in his chest lit back up.

"What the hell?"

Steve sighed and Waverly, who had once more latched herself onto Steve or else she'd faint, sobbed with relief.

"What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." Even battered, bruised, and barely alive, Tony had his sense of humor.

Steve looked around him. "We won." He hardly believed it. They had been vastly outnumbered. Yet, they managed to save countless lives, hold the enemy, and close the portal. Not only that, Tony Stark had almost lost his life to send a nuke into outer space to both save New York and take out the alien's home base.

"All right. Yay! Hooray, good job guys." Stark said breathlessly. He waved his fist weakly in the air in celebration. "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried Shawarma? There's a Shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."

Steve laughed. He didn't know what in the world Shawarma was but he was up for anything that wasn't battling aliens. He almost agreed when Thor spoke up.

"We're not finished yet."

Right. They still had to deal with Loki.

"Then," Tony gasped, still out of breath, "Shawarma after."

* * *

Waverly, Steve, Thor, Tony, and Hulk met up with Natasha and Clint at what was formerly Stark Tower. Now, the building was simply labeled with a huge, battered letter A. Windows were shattered and the fancy tip top balcony was in shambles. Tony didn't seem to be too upset though, which was a shock for everyone. They gathered in what was formerly Tony's combined bar and living room. Loki was crawling from a god sized hole in the floor. The movement caused him to wince and grunt in pain. He was covered in a layer of dust and was bleeding from several cuts. Hulk seemed very pleased with himself. Waverly wondered what all had transpired in here while she and Steve had been on the ground fighting.

The team, all fully armed and thoroughly pissed off, assembled around Loki with weapons raised. The battered god turned his head slowly to face them. Addressing Tony, he said, "If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now."

Clint nocked an arrow. "Try again."

Waverly radioed her boss. "Sir, we got him."


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: LAST CHAPTER! AHH! Well... thanks to all who've read and reviewed. I'm so glad you like my story. I am planning on writing a sequel and I have a lot of ideas, but I don't know when I'll start it... so stay tuned! As always, I hope you enjoy.**

**I own nothing.**

Chapter Fifteen:

The next few days were a whirl of activity. The team had apprehended Loki and returned him to SHIELD's custody. Each member of the team sat before Fury, debriefing him on the battle. The portal was disassembled and the Tesseract locked in a secure container. There were several meetings, discussing what should be done with Loki and the Tesseract. The team hardly had time to rest after the battle. Cuts and bruises still covered everyone's bodies.

Waverly, though, was glad for the chaos that followed the equally insane battle. It gave her something to do instead of think about what had happened the last few days. Every night, she was so exhausted after meetings with Fury, guarding Loki, and dealing with the Council, the second her head touched the pillow in her room on the helicarrier, she was out. No nightmares disturbed her sleep. But, Waverly knew once things calmed down, the terrible reality of what she had been though would hit her. Yes, she had survived and yes they had won, but Waverly knew she'd have nightmares about Loki and the aliens for quite some time. There was one thing about all the activity that Waverly didn't like. It hardly gave her any time to talk to Steve.

Finally, three days since the battle in New York, a decision had been made. Fury agreed to allow Thor to take Loki back to Asgard. The god of thunder assured them that Loki would be carefully guarded over and couldn't threaten Earth again. Thor insisted on taking the Tesseract as well. It took a while to convince Fury, but the team, all agreeing that was the best decision, eventually got him to agree as well. Surprisingly, the meeting ended with Fury granting them all a leave of absence for a while. No one argued. Not even Clint and Natasha who were both always so involved with their work. Everyone needed a break.

But first, they had to send Loki off.

The team was dressed in normal clothes, as to not attract attention, except of course for Thor. That drew some looks. And then, when billionaire Tony Stark is in your group, that draws some looks as well. But no one approached them, whether out of fear or awe, the team didn't know. They assembled in Central Park. Loki was restrained and Thor had the Tesseract secured in its capsule.

"My friends, I bid you farewell." Thor said. "Do not hesitate to call on me if your planet is ever in any danger."

"Will do, big guy," Tony said, patting Thor on the arm.

The rest of the team bid farewell to Thor. Then, the god offered the capsule to Loki's cuffed hand. The imprisoned god glared but grabbed the other end of the capsule. With a twist, Thor activated the Tesseract's power. A blue light engulfed the Asgardians and in a flash, they were gone.

"Glad that's over," Clint said, staring with contempt at the place Loki had just been standing.

"Nothing left now," Natasha said.

"Well, I don't know about you all, but I have a tower to rebuild." Stark waved around the circle of superheroes, then strode over to his fancy Italian sports car that was parked nearby. "Doctor, care to join me?"

Dr. Banner looked nervously around. It was obvious he had the Hulk under control, but the doctor had been removed from society so long, he was nervous about rejoining the world. But, he eventually nodded. Natasha pulled the doctor's bag from Clint's Camero and handed it to the doctor.

"Thanks for everything, Bruce."

Banner nodded. "You too."

While Banner got into the car with Stark, Clint turned to Waverly. "Are you sure you'll be okay, after all this?"

Waverly nodded, but she ran forward and threw herself against Clint's chest, giving him a hug. Now that their job was over, she could finally be relieved that Clint was alive and out of Loki's control for good. Clint hugged her back.

"We still have things to talk about," he said.

"I know. But not now. Now, I just need you to be my brother." Waverly responded. She pulled away and smiled up at Clint. "Okay?"

"Got it. You take care of yourself." Clint looked over Waverly's shoulder where Steve was standing, waiting for Waverly to finish with him. "Remember," Clint was addressing his sister, but he looked at Steve. "I've got my eyes on everything." His tone was serious, but his lips titled up ever so slightly.

Waverly rolled her eyes playfully. "Whatever. How 'bout you do something useful with your time off. Take Natasha out on a date."

Natasha looked over, confused. Clint blushed. "Right, yeah, whatever. Steve's waiting for you. Go on."

Waverly laughed and said good bye to her brother and Natasha before walking over to Steve. "Ready?" She asked.

Steve nodded. "Let's go." Steve swung himself onto the motorcycle nearby. Waverly climbed up after him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding tight. With a rev of the engine, Steve and Waverly were off, back to their apartment.

* * *

Steve parked the bike in the apartment building's attached garage then followed Waverly to the elevator that would take them to the building's top floor. Finally, they were going back home. It was weird. Before all this, Steve had never referred to his apartment as 'home.' His home was back in the past, a place he could never go to again. But after all that had happened, the bond he had formed with Waverly and the feelings between them, for the first time in a long time, Steve felt like maybe he could be a part of this new world. Maybe the soldier could belong here.

The pair had reached their apartment. Thankfully, this building was on the other side of the city, so the battle with the Chituari had left it unscathed. Waverly opened the door and led the way inside. The place was just like they had left it. Waverly sighed with enormous relief and flung herself on the couch. Meanwhile, Steve shut the door and placed his leather jacket in the closet.

"For the first time, I'm glad to be here," Steve said.

Waverly sat up on the couch. "And why is that?"

"The battle's over. We won." Steve crossed the room and sat down beside her. He looked at Waverly. "And you."

Waverly blushed. "What about me?"

Now Steve was blushing. "Really? You're going to make me say it. You know I'm not good at talking to women."

"You were fine when you kissed me." Waverly teased.

"Yeah, well I didn't think I'd survive the battle." Steve responded.

Waverly rolled her eyes and punched Steve playfully in the arm. "You know, technically, you're still my assignment. Fury doesn't want me to be in a relationship with you."

"Well then, I guess we just can't let him find out."


End file.
